Few relationships are more personal, private and important than the one between doctor and patient. Yet, today, one both sides of the Atlantic, physicians are increasingly having there decisions second-guessed by distant third parties. “Physician Disempowerment: A Transatlantic Malaise,” a new book from the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI) chronicles the recent -- and pronounced -- intrusion by government and other disinterested third parties into the private medical relationships patients have with their doctors.
While this insidious “adverse event” has been an issue in Europe and Canada for many years, it is just now emerging as the hidden third rail of American healthcare reform. The book also includes essays by physicians and policy makers who work in the oft-vaunted socialized healthcare systems of our neighbor to the North and
Dr. François Sarkozy, a pediatrician (and also the brother of the French President) shared his impressions of the state of the French medical profession. "There’s a relative loss of status in being a physician. There’s a malaise with the French physicians," he says. "We’ve seen that independent private practice has become less attractive in France than it was before.
The book is based on a conference recently held by CMPI in Washington,
An electronic copy of Physician Disempowerment: A Transatlantic Malaise can be downloaded at by clicking here. Hard copies can be obtained by contacting CMPI at (212) 417-9169.
