Deregulation and the Healthcare sector

There has been an inordinate amount of discussion about deregulation and our flourishing economy.  Unfortunately, none of this deregulation has entered the healthcare sector.  Medicine has become an over regulated conglomerate fueled by the forces of large hospital systems, the pharmaceutical and insurance industries and government regulations, all of which are suffocating healthcare providers

There was a time when the provider was actually allowed to practice medicine with latitude and genuine decision-making entered into the equation.  Nowadays, the burden of restrictions dictates case-making decisions with the erroneous belief that this is all for the better.

Patient care is mandated by algorithms, EMR (electronic medical records) documentation, insurance industry restrictions for prescribing medications and diagnostic tests and a mound of preauthorizations.  The physician lacks autonomy and is left with relatively no say in the process of true decision-making without asking ‘Big Brother’.  Practicing medicine is not any easier than navigating a complicated maze riddled with obstacles. Some might say that it’s easier to practice medicine because everyone else, except the physician, has already decided what is good for the patient.  I see it a bit differently.  Physicians are over-regulated, overburdened and part of a broken profession.  It’s no wonder that burnout is at an all-time high

Let’s encourage our goverment to ‘loosen the reins’on the healthcare sector and restore some dignity to a demoralized profession which is on the brink.  I can only imagine how some degree of  deregulation might add a breath of fresh air for a profession which once  took pride in their  endeavors and were committed to the forgotten “Art of Medicine”.

Ronald G. Frank, MD FACS
Urologist
West Orange, New Jersey