The State of Primary Care--How Much Responsibility Do Specialty Physicians Bear?

Our good friend Brian Klepper, posting over at "The Health Care Blog," has some provocative things to say about the state of primary care and the role the specialties, and even the American Medical Association, have had in getting us to where we are.

Among Brian's points:

• "American primary care is a shambles, and it is now clear that it will not be viable in the future unless significant changes occur in our national attitude about its value and in the way we pay for it."
• "In other words – and it is important to be clear about this – the premeditated actions of the specialist-dominated RUC, operating under the auspices of the AMA and in alliance with CMS, appear to have played a direct role in the current primary care crisis by driving policy that financially favored specialty care at the expense of primary care."
• "But our Congressional representatives and the American people almost certainly don’t know these details. Most Americans and, for that matter, most health care professionals, are utterly unaware of the roles of the AMA and CMS in shaping the primary care crisis and our larger health system problems. Most believe the AMA speaks for all physicians."
• "Recognizing the primary care physician’s value by imbuing him/her with the authority to serve as the patient’s advocate throughout the continuum of care, and then paying him/her to do that would accomplish several important objectives."

That little sample should have you ready to read the whole post here.