On January 29, 2008, I posted the following entry on Sermo, an online community of licensed U.S. physicians (shortened for clarity):

Open letter to the people of the United States

Don’t show me this again

It’s now clear to most people that the current healthcare system is unsustainable. What the public does not know, however, is the pervasive hypocrisy of the system and how it has diminished the authority of the only true advocates of patients: physicians.

Here’s an idea: Why don’t we write an open letter and have it published in a national newspaper?

In this letter, we could outline several issues including :

1. How the current system and the greed of insurance companies have increased healthcare costs and denied many people affordable coverage

2. The loss of physician autonomy has been bad for society and a byproduct of unnecessary regulation and third party greed

There are many more things that can be mentioned. What makes doing this possible now is how easy it has become for physicians to share ideas and communicate. If we start drafting a letter on Sermo and disseminate to one or two colleagues each, we could be fairly confident that the content represents a the consensus of a large group of physicians.

Publishing a one-page letter in a national newspaper costs anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a full page.

I think this is one of those out-of-the-box strategies that, if done well, can generate a lot of publicity in our favor and can be the start something new.

Fast forward to May 7, 2008. On this day, after months of polls, surveys, intense discussions, and draft revisions on Sermo, the letter was posted online for signatures. In the first day alone, 1000 signatures were collected. A seven-member volunteer physician writing committee representing seven different specialties took the input of over a thousand physicians in drafting the open letter. We are expecting to get a very large number of signatures, although the experience of writing the letter, and the response of the physician community to it, has already been an amazing display of unity and consensus.

And here is the letter:

An Open Letter from America’s Physicians

Dear Fellow Americans,

For decades the United States has led the world in healthcare. We have enjoyed the finest hospitals, medical schools, research, technology, and resources. Unfortunately, our healthcare system has lost focus to the point where patient well-being is placed after politics, profits, and special interests. Healthcare costs are on the rise and patients have lost their freedom of choice. These trends are hurting our economy and compromising the doctor-patient relationship. As a result, it has become difficult for physicians to deliver the best possible care.

Our heavily fragmented healthcare system has made it very difficult for you, the American public, to get the care you need. As your physicians, we want to partner with you to address the critical defects of the system as outlined below:

• You are paying a lot for healthcare and not receiving enough in return. Your insurance premiums continue to increase while your healthcare options are dwindling. Gatekeepers, insurance networks, and restrictive regulations limit your choice of doctors and your access to care.

• You have been made dependent on complicated and expensive health insurance plans. Employers are forced to take money out of your paycheck to purchase health coverage. If you lose your job, you are left with no safety net and the money you have paid for health coverage vanishes.

• The time you spend with your physician has become remarkably brief due to regulatory hurdles requiring doctors to spend more time on documentation than with you.

We believe the following factors have made our current healthcare system unsustainable:

• The insurance industry’s undue authority and oppressive control over healthcare processes

• Excessive and misguided government regulation

• The practice of defensive medicine in response to a harmful and costly legal environment

We, the physicians of the United States, will no longer remain silent. We will not tolerate a healthcare system where those without medical expertise or genuine interest in our patients’ health have absolute control. This letter is merely a summary of the most important problems in our current system. We believe that by partnering with the public we can start to demand real change and formulate practical solutions.

We invite you, our patients, friends, neighbors, and employers to unite with us at this important time in the history of healthcare in the United States. Together, we can guarantee our nation a healthier tomorrow.

Please talk to your doctor about this letter and visit http://www.sermo.com/doctorsunite for more information.

Respectfully,

The Undersigned U.S. Physicians

More info: Doctors Unite, Open Letter Campaign

Filed under: Open Letter Campaign