Physicians: Increased Government Control Is Not Health Care ‘Reform’

While President Barack Obama and his health care overhaul allies assert "most doctors and nurses support reform," poll results from Sermo, an online physicians community, suggest otherwise.

In Sermo's Poll #1:

• More than nine in 10 physicians surveyed believe the current proposals for health care reform do not address the real sources of cost increases in the industry.

• Eight in 10 physicians surveyed believe the proposed changes for a public health care option will negatively impact the quality of care they can provide to patients

In Poll #2:

• More than eight in 10 physicians surveyed think payment reform and medical malpractice reform are the best policies for physicians and patients alike.

• Four in 10 physicians surveyed think current government health care programs not effective--or are very ineffective--at responding to the individual needs of patients and empowering physicians and providers to provide quality care. Only 5 percent of physicians surveyed rated current government health care programs as very effective.

• Two-thirds of physicians surveyed said increased federal control over health care would decrease their ability to provide high quality care to their patients.

• Two-thirds of physicians surveyed said a new government-run health care plan would decrease the quality of the patient-physician relationship

Sermo (apparently Latin for "conversation") says it's the fastest-growing community created by physicians, for physicians. More than 110,000 physicians are members of the community, where they "aggregate observations from their daily practice and then -- rapidly and in large numbers -- challenge or corroborate each others' opinions, accelerating the emergence of trends and new insights on medications, devices, and treatments."

And, Sermo says, "as the health care debate intensifies, thousands of MDs and DOs are turning to Sermo to get directly involved in the reform effort."

Sermo is encouraging physicians to make their voices heard in the health care debate. More than 11,400 physicians have signed the Physicians Appeal to "let lawmakers know that you want to work directly with them to create reform----without the influence of special interest groups."

Sermo is currently a community for physicians only, but they're planning to develop ways for non-physicians to participate.

We're not affiliated with Sermo in any way, but we welcome their active engagement in this debate. The more voices raised in opposition to a federal takeover of medicine, the better!