More and more on commercials now they are not using the words Doctors any more. Instead they are using term see your health care professional.

Why do you think that is to save money they don't want you to see doctors for everything instead want you to see a nurse or someone else then a doctor.

I'm I just being paranoid?

foots, they can't say the word doctor anymore, because the commercials are all pitching phoney stuff.

George was great, miss him, thank you for the link, it was one of his best.

"Health care professional" is a generic term that could include anyone who is involved with health care and has some education in the field. But, in areas where there's a shortage of doctors, it often refers to nurse practitioners and physician assistants who practice some forms of medicine--either in doctors' offices or in their own practices. Arizona and many other states permit nurse practitioners to open their own offices. They can do pretty much everything medical except surgery. I had a minor emergency a few years ago, and two of the three "health care professionals" who saw me in the emergency room were physicians' assistants--they were pretty good.

I haven't read one other word in this thread. But yes.

Blue pill in the morning, yellow at night. How many times do I have to remind you, Foots?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdPy5Ikn7dw

I have heard in the past that a ton of doctors will be retiring in the next ten years. There is not enough doctors in medical schools to full that void.

So guess what we will be served by less qualified people in the future.

Something to look forward to.

Take this pill take that pill, bunch of pill pushers.

Not me, I been going to the same Family Doctor for years, he never perscribes, unless absolutely necessary for an obvious reason.

I think the more recent trained young Doctors will be fine since they are learning this method.

My Doctor has hired many of the PA's since they can actually help him remain a Great Doctor.

If you are a Leader, Chief, Boss or any decition maker, surround yourself with people who may know certain things you do not and you will be better for it and make better decitions.

1st thing that came to mind when I read that was they are getting ready to ship in 3 trillion H1B Visa slaves to take over healthcare jobs to keep everyone else out in the street looking for work and on welfare. The healthcare field was always booming, and it should be booming a lot more now once the new health care policy holders start going in for normal check ups.

Calling the person treating the patients a "healthcare professional" is awfully convenient if you are planning on having someone other than doctors doing the lead work.

If they are going to try and do what I think they probably will, that means the service quality will go down, because a doctor isn't treating you, just a white coat stand in.

This has been a long standing goal of CMS (Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services) and prior to that, HCFA (Health Care Financing Administration)...what their goal has been and still is, is to replace MD's on the front line with NP's and PA's in order to decrease costs. What that means in real terms to patients is inferior care...if you think that an NP or PA is even in the same universe with a physician, you are either delusional or an NP or PA yourself. Don't kid yourself friend.

Foot,

the trend is a result of two things.

I forgot exactly when or how but the requirements for foreign born and trained physicians to come over here and practice were tightened a while back.

Super stringent now...not just testing but a series of bureaucratic hoops you have to jump through.

The rationale behind the change was to "protect" the American born physician as fewer and fewer American born students are entering medical school. Being buried under a ton of school debt is definitely a factor in fewer American born people entering medical school....driving potential American physicians into perhaps STEM fields requiring less years of training.

Less foreign born doctors being allowed to work here....and less American born students going into medicine.

No disrepect to the above post, but those "facts" just aren't the case. The production of physicians, NP's and PA's are all time highs. The production of physicians will always be there due to the American Dream of "my kid's a doctor." However, the quality will drop over time due to numerous factors in medicine, including the skyrocketing debt that students must incur, the decreasing reimbursement that physicians receive (has steadily declined over the last 20 yrs.) and unrelenting malpractice, and there are more.

@oldschool,

thanks....no need to say no disrespect though...I'd rather be corrected online than to be laughed at in real life for saying things that are wrong. Gonna go back and look at the numbers but I'm convinced that fewer American born students are entering medicine, graduating from medical school, and practicing.


I do think that you're right about more people becoming NPs, RNs, LPNs, BSNs, and PAs as the demand(and salaries) for those positions are increasing.

I'll be back....like the Governator

My experience with NP's and PA's here is that they've been quite competent and highly motivated. They can help you--as long as you observe the Golden Rule of Health Care: You (and no one else) are in charge of your health. Always keep your eyes wide open, give the provider maximum info about your problem, and listen very closely to what you're being told.

The biggest negative trend in health care today is its high cost. Doctors are under orders to spend no more than 10-15 minutes with each patient--hardly enough time to make an accurate diagnosis. That's why you have to be on your toes, give a lot of info, and listen carefully.

Who is ordering the doctor?

I had a heart specialist who was my regular doctor. You waited in the office forever then you get in his office and yes you were out in less then 10 minutes.

That is why my wife and I left him.

My new doctor you can talk to him when your done and he is done he moves to the next patient.

He is a good guy that I trust. My wife is afraid of doctors and dentists. When I switched to him I explained to him about my wife. He makes it a point to make her feel comfortable.

She needed a lot of dental work he recommended his friend. He was terrific and so was his assistant. It was a little expensive because he did not take our dental coverage but it was worth it.

As Turnbull said above, most NP's and PA's are adequate and motivated...for good reason...they are given straight forward cases by the supervising MD/office staff and are only required to see a select # of pt's per day....but you make a very good point about MD's being under the gun time-wise. The majority of MD's today are "employed"...meaning that the hospital or organization that they work for is keeping very close track of how many pt's they see per day and how much time that they are spending per pt encounter. If you really want to be a "wise shopper" you may want to seek out a private MD...that is not to say that all or most "employed" MD's aren't just as capable.

Exactly. My personal physician was in a group associated with a local medical center because her group could no longer afford to be a stand-alone practice. So, she went "private"--became a concierge provider. I trust and respect her, so I went with her. I pay her a flat fee per year, and get unlimited access, with no time limit per visit, and can call her nights and weekends.