Commentary

Here's a waste of health care dollars: Refuting myths

by Will Nicholson, M.D.

In health care, we vow to "first do no harm." If only politicians had to make a similar promise.

As a family physician, I've spent a lot of time debunking myths about health care that my patients see on the Internet, late night TV or in the back pages of magazines.

I never dreamed I would have to debunk myths about health care from our elected officials and supposed leaders.

Worried patients have asked me about "death panels." They have health problems that are very real, yet I've had to spend time refuting patently false accusations about health care reform. I can think of no worse waste of health care dollars.

People trust health care professionals because the work we do is based on the principles of public service, uncompromising honesty and making the needs of our patients our highest priority. People often don't -- and many times shouldn't -- trust politicians or political commentators, who claim to hold similar principles but may act in purely self-serving ways.

Before such people presume to regulate and reform my profession, they should try holding themselves to its ethical standards.

A primary goal of health care providers is to tell our patients the unbiased truth, so that they are able to make the decisions that are right for them -- not for us. In a democracy, those at the center of public debate should have the same goal.

In health care, we improve outcomes by working as an integrated team as well as through respectful and constructive competition. This never involves spreading lies about our colleagues' opinions or motivations. We are able to respectfully disagree, compromise and work toward the best interests of our patients, regardless of personal and philosophical differences.

If our political leaders worked together in this way, instead of shouting down and slandering each other, many of the common-sense problems our health care system faces would already be fixed.

Under our pledge, we make the health, safety and best interest of each individual patient in the health care system our highest priority. Physicians would never spread lies to create fear and hysteria during the middle of a health care crisis; neither should our political leaders.

Fortunately, most of our leaders do seem to conduct themselves appropriately. Only a vocal minority has resorted to scaring the public with false accusations and melodrama.

We on the front lines of medicine honor these principles every day, and we do so under penalty of law and loss of license. In American medicine we call it professionalism. In American politics we call it statesmanship. In both cases, doing anything less should be considered malpractice.

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Will Nicholson, M.D., practices family medicine in Maplewood.