MMA Viewpoint
The Importance of Speaking Up
Physicians can’t afford not to advocate. It’s one of their primary jobs. You are an advocate for your patients every day, and for your profession every time you see a patient and every time you speak out about patient care, public health, and medical science.
It’s easy to advocate for your patients. You learned how during your medical training. And it’s not hard to become an advocate for your profession. You can attend meetings at your hospital and clinic and let your opinion be known. Once you gain confidence in your ability to speak out, you can extend your advocacy to a wider arena.
Why is this so important? Physicians are looked on as leaders in the health care community. We were reminded of this at our March Board meeting, when Commissioner of Health Sanne Magnan, M.D., told us, “Your voice in your communities will be more powerful than anything I can do.” She urged physicians to write letters to the editor and speak out in their communities in favor of our state’s ban on smoking in bars and restaurants and against sham theatrical performances that subject workers and patrons to the hazards of secondhand smoke. The Minnesota Department of Health has determined that these “performances” violate the Freedom to Breathe Act.
Many of you do speak out. You support the MMA’s advocacy efforts by responding to our action alerts and calling your legislators. At the MMA’s Day at the Capitol, I was pleased to see the rotunda filled to capacity with MMA physicians in white coats. It’s an image of solidarity that lawmakers will remember. That day, many MMA physicians visited their legislators and talked about our three main priorities: health care reform, coverage for interpreter services, and protecting the Health Care Access Fund. Comprehensive health care reform tops the list. We must develop a system that makes the physician-patient interaction central to health care. Simply going back to old notions such as capitation will not work. Our second priority is asking that health plans be required to cover medical interpreter services so we can give patients who don’t speak fluent English the care they need. We’re also making every effort to protect the Health Care Access Fund from being used to balance the state budget.
If you missed Day at the Capitol, you can arrange to meet with your legislators whenever it’s convenient. Just call the MMA legislative team at 612/362-3740 or 800/342-5662 and tell them you’d like to participate in Capitol Rounds. They’ll set up meetings and escort you on a tour of the Capitol. When you take the time to meet with your senators and representatives, it makes a difference. Lawmakers listen to their constituents, and they especially want to hear from physicians.
Your advocacy efforts don’t necessarily have to be legislative; they can be directed toward improving public health, employee-employer relationships, and patient care in your particular system, or helping patients obtain insurance coverage and necessary care. There are many places where your voice needs to be heard.
What we do as advocates won’t always have an immediate impact; but it will matter to the next generation of patients, when they find it easier to get the care they need. And it will matter to physicians, when they find themselves working in improved systems. We are advocating for the future of medicine. Join us.