More on ‘We are physicians, not providers’

I love Dr. Nasrallah's editorial. It was so refreshing to read, and we really need more of this all around. The language we use is important, and as a teaching faculty member, I see medical students and residents tossing around the term "provider" flippantly; it seems the term has been drilled into them. It is completely and totally demoralizing to our profession and has everything to do with the corporate takeover of health care. I lecture my students on physician advocacy, specifically regarding midlevel encroachment into medicine, but there is so much misuse of health care terminology. Now, everyone is a doctor, clinician, provider, or prescriber. Why not just identify everyone by their actual credentials? I also completely agree about the term “client,” which is also ridiculous.

I found Dr. Nasrallah's editorial to be a breath of fresh air. I thank him for it!

Laura K. Kendall, MD
Los Angeles, California

I want to congratulate Dr. Nasrallah for addressing the "provider" issue in his editorial. It is right on the mark and has been a thorn in my side for many years (as is the “client” vs “patient” issue). He worded it very well! I thank Dr. Nasrallah for discussing this.

René S. Kahn, MD, PhD
New York, New York

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