Just in time for the Republican and Democratic presidential conventions, the American College of Physicians has released a position paper telling the people who keep saying they don't want politicians to get between patients and their doctors to stop placing themselves between patients and their doctors.
"Some recent laws and proposed legislation appear to inappropriately infringe on clinical medical practice and patient-physician relationships, crossing traditional boundaries and intruding into the realm of medical professionalism," Dr. David Bronson, president of the ACP, said in a news release.
The ACP spelled out its stance in a 12-page Statement of Principles on the Role of Governments in Regulating the Patient-Physician Relationship (PDF). The statement noted that of particular concern were laws and regulations "that require physicians to provide care not supported by evidence-based guidelines and/or not individualized to the needs of the specific patient."
Approaching the subject politely, the paper begins by stating that "it may be difficult to distinguish between mandates that interfere with clinical practice versus those that promote good public health," but it goes on to basically say that unless you have scientific evidence supporting your position, don't tell us what to say and don't tell us what to do.
And it's about time someone said it.
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Nobel prizes probably won't be handed out, but peace has been declared between the American College of Chest Physicians and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and patients might be declared the conflict's winners.
"The guideline wars are over," trumpets the headline of an editorial written by Dr. Jay Lieberman, chairman of the University of Connecticut orthopedic surgery department and appearing in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Can it be true?
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