DOCTORS’ ATTITUDES ON THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE:

What’s Wrong, Who’s to Blame, and What Will Fix It

Survey Results
June 2012

Click here to view the entire survey!
View survey questions (Raw Data) | View survey comments (Raw Data)  |  View Survey Demographics

EXECUTIVE REPORT

ABOUT THE SURVEY

The survey was conducted by fax and online from April 18 to May 22, 2012. DPMAF obtained the office fax numbers of 36,000 doctors in active clinical practice, and 16, 227 faxes were successfully delivered. Doctors were asked to return their completed surveys by fax, or online at a web address included in the faxed copy. Browser rules prevented doctors from filing duplicate surveys, and respondents were asked to provide personal identification for verification. The response rate was 4.3% for a total of 699 completed surveys.

One of the key goals of Doctor Patient Medical Association is to improve the doctor-patient relationship and serve as a resource for information sharing . Shop through DPMA's Amazon Bookstore for books and other materials that support freedom in medicine.

Below are links to white papers, books, and other materials that our members have recommended. Please note - the opinions expressed in these materials are not necessarily that of DPMA, and are independent to the author. If you have recommendations of information to add to this list, please email info@doctorsandpatients.org.

Healthcare Reform for Legislators First Do No Harm
by Joseph N. Michelotti, M.D., M.A., F.A.C.S.
http://www.elginsurgeons.com/reform.html

Websites with additional resources (recommended by DPMA members)

http://www.cato.org/people/michael-cannon

http://www.galen.org

http://www.ncpa.org/healthcare

http://www.cahc.net

http://www.benjaminrushsociety.org/

Georgetown Health Policy Institute
(note from a DPMA member, Please note the Georgetown HPI does seem to lean in favor of the PPACA. However, it has been a reasonable source to understand what may be positive in the PPACA, and is good at exploring the health insurance exchanges, but they do not get into the removal of decision-making away from the physician and consolidation of control into the purview of the Secretary of HHS)

Books Available for Purchase

Click here to see a full list of recommended books available for purchase from Amazon.com.

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Misdiagnosis: A Practicing Physicians's Case Study in Health Care Reform
Dr. Kipp A. Van Camp

It has been hypothesized that the health reform bill will either be determined unconstitutional or repealed altogether. It’s certainly possible that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) may suffer this ultimate fate. The greater problem is that the PPACA currently is the law of the land – so the bill is already being implemented, slowly and methodically, one step at a time, at the local, state, and federal level.

Buy now from Amazon.com

The Inner Pulse: Unlocking the Secret Code of Sickness and Health
Dr. Marc Siegel

Many doctors overlook the seemingly inexplicable tragedies and recoveries that happen in hospitals every day, opting to view them simply as aberrations from the medical norm. In this book, Dr. Marc Siegel draws from his decades of experience treating patients and explores the sometimes miraculous effects that the spirit and emotion can have on disease and healing. The inner pulse is the essence that links the soul to the mind and body, the marker that predicts whether a person's life force is fading or strengthening. This book shows you how to tap into your inner pulse and even how to influence it.

Buy now from Amazon.com

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed in to law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. Doctor Patient Medical Association believes this law, with over 12,000 pages of new laws and regulations giving sweeping new powers to political appointees like the HHS Secretary and IRS is detrimental to the medical freedom of medical professionals and patients.

It is DPMA's position that PPACA is the Destruction Of Our Medicine, attempting to insert the government and bureaucrats between the relationship and decisions of medical professional and their patient.

For more information, please read the following:

PPACA = DOOM, facts and figures at your fingertip

DPMA led coalition letter urging repeal of PPACA

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF A PHONE CONSULTATION OR OFFICE VISIT

Click here to download a full PDF with this and additional information

Nearly 95% of diagnosis is the history. The quality of the advice you get from your physician depends on the quality and amount of information he obtains from you.  Be prepared.

Acronyms and Bureaucrat-ese make medical terms difficult to understand! If you have a term or concept that you'd like to see added to this list, please send us an email!

The patient-physician relationship should be built on a foundation of communication and respect.

These are the basics:

Availability

Your physician should keep reasonable office hours and be available by phone. He should schedule adequate time for an office visit to make a diagnosis and answer questions. But remember, even with careful scheduling, appointments can back up, and you may have to wait. Once a patient is in the examination room, it may take longer than expected if the diagnosis is more complicated than could be foreseen. Please be patient -- you expect the doctor to take the same care and diligence when it's your turn.

The medical profession has a myriad of tests available to help diagnose your problems.  But to the layperson they may sound like alphabet soup.  Some are expensive and can be intrusive and uncomfortable.  To help you understand why a test is needed and know what to expect, ask these questions:

Shop around for prices.
There is a wide variance from store to store.  For example, we have found prices on fluoxetine (generic Prozac) to vary from $13.00 to $170.00 for 100 of 20 mg dose. 

Watch for sales on prescriptions you take regularly.  Drugstores will sometimes put commonly prescribed drugs on sale. Ask your doctor to write your prescription for a larger quantity and stock up.

Your insurance policy or managed care contract will spell out procedures for filing complaints or grievances.  But the scales are tipped in favor of the company.  If you're having problems, contact your state Insurance Commissioner to file a complaint.
At times, insurers refuse to pay for treatment they deem medically unnecessary or those considered experimental.  If you are in a managed care plan, they not only can refuse payment, but refuse to provide the treatment.
Here are suggestions for fighting back: