Begin From the Beginning–The Origins of Physicians for Patient Protection
Let me tell you what this individual, who I will randomly refer to as Joe Blow, did not do. He did not ask, like many of those of his ilk, how Physicians for Patient Protection(PPP) came to be. I’ve spoken of our beginnings many times, so I will just summarize.
The founders of PPP belonged to a much larger group of approximately 70,000 physicians. Within that group, one of the discussions that arose was that some of the physicians were seeing patients who had been medically mismanaged. Mismanagement is not unusual; however, these cases were different. The numbers of mismanaged patients were higher than in the past and the mistakes, more egregious. As physicians, they became concerned that some colleagues were making mistakes a 1st year medical student would not make. But the patients swore they were cared for by doctors. So a small faction of these physicians did a bit of research, with the intent of reporting these physicians to their respective medical boards for substandard practice. To their surprise, that research led back to nurse practitioners, not physicians. The docs thought this very odd since NPs are not allowed to practice medicine–they don’t have medical licenses. This concentrated group broke off from the larger group and became the PPP FB group. Members began exploring this previously unknown issue in more depth and subsequently learned that there were indeed NPs practicing medicine w/o medical licenses, and they were permitted to do so by dumba** legislators who passed unsupervised practice laws. They discovered that in 20+ states, NPs no longer had close supervision by physicians, also enabled by uninformed legislators. NPs were referring to themselves as “Doctors” because they possessed a little known, non-clinical degree called the “Doctorate of Nursing Practice”, or DNP. The docs were astonished to discover that the majority of these NPs had obtained their DNP degrees from online degree mills, which none of the physicians in the group knew even existed. It was then they realized why they were seeing these poorly managed patients–and set out to do something about it. Why would anyone expect physicians, whose job it is to not only care for but protect patients, to simply ignore what they were witnessing so that NPs would not be offended? These patients mattered. They were completely unaware that they were not seeing physicians, but individuals who had received their doctorates online and who were impersonating physicians. We ultimately discovered that most physicians, legislators and others in the public knew nothing of this phenomenon either, the goal of which was to achieve “Full Practice Authority”, aka practicing medicine without a medical license or oversight. With no information as to who would manage any complications that would arise as a result of said objective. PPP set out to aggressively advocate and educate as to what was occurring in this health care realm because the majority of the public were oblivious. However, the nursing organizations knew. And the accrediting bodies for nursing education knew. And the nurse licensing boards knew. AND DID NOTHING to protect the public. Not a damn thing.
Physician assistants(PAs)were not on the radar because most remained supervised. However, as they were pushed further and further out of a medical landscape which favored NPs, they had to develop a strategy to survive. That strategy became Optimal Team Practice(OTP), their version of Full Practice Authority. It was after they jumped on the same bandwagon as the NPs that they gained the attention of PPP.
PPP is not a wealthy organization. Much of the advocacy we did back then was paid for out of pocket. No one needed the extra work this takes to advocate, we are busy enough. But none of us could turn our backs on our patients. We’ve all been raised to know right from wrong. What was happening to these patients was and is wrong. No one without a medical license should be practicing medicine, least of all without oversight or accountability. What hospital would hire a physician whose entire education was completed online? What patient would trust such a physician? Yet, it has become acceptable for NPs to do exactly this. No vetting. No background check as to the validity of the “school” attended. Just their certification which nearly any one can “earn”. And their word, while possessing no medical education and with the full support of medical facilities and corporations whose only interest is to increase profits and keep their shareholders happy. Any injury or harm to patients is incidental and apparently acceptable because this s**t continues.
PPP is not anti-NPP(non-physician practitioners), we are pro-patient. Many of our members employ and/or work alongside NPPs in symbiotic, mutually respectful relationships. There are indeed NPPs who do not support the independent practice of NPs/PAs. There are many NPs who detest the online degree mills and agree they need to be shut down.
Now enter the aforementioned Joe Blow. This is what retaliation looks like when advocates threaten an unseemly agenda while protecting patients. When those with a vested interest in valuable information being suppressed lash out. The public has to understand that when doctors speak out and up, this is the nonsense we have to tolerate. The stalking, doxxing and attempts to contact employers to get the physician fired. No consideration by the aggressors that when that physician is fired, patients lose a physician in the community…and that community may be small and not have many physicians in the first place. No one has the right to interfere with another person’s ability to make a living simply because one disagrees with their perspective. Particularly if the difference in opinion is legitimate.
One must question why an organization such as PPP was not needed in the past. Reason being, physicians were not witnessing medical mismanagement on this scale. Mature and professional NPs in the past were not fraudulently misrepresenting themselves as physicians or claiming that “physicians make mistakes too” as a justification for practicing medicine without a license. The excuse that physicians also make mistakes is not the point. That does not excuse malpractice or negligence which occurs as a result of one practicing medicine w/o the appropriate education. It is one thing to make a mistake when one possesses the knowledge and training. It is an entire other issue to make a mistake when one never possessed the knowledge in the first place. Of the two, which is most likely to incur more errors? The answer is evident just by using common sense.
Contrary to popular belief, I am not a founder, board member or officer in PPP and never have been. I am a general member and I stand with PPP in their commitment to their mission of physician-led care and truth and transparency in medicine.
**This commentary was written in November of 2019, and is shared as it was told to me by one of the founders of PPP. The PPP FB group formed around the end of 2016. I became a member 6 months later.**
NP’s and PA’s need PHYSICIAN
OVERSIGHT. They are not licensed in any State to practice medicine. They do not not have the in-depth education or supervised clinical training of MD’s/DO’s.
Their touted “Board Certifications” are not medical.
As a patient, all I can say is Caveat Emptor!!!
Over the course of my (so far) fifty-year career, including training, I’ve worked with, taught, and hired dozens of PA’s and NP’s, and I can say with certainty…the best PA or NP is much better than the worst MD’s I’ve known!
That has not been my experience at all. The best NP I have ever worked with was, still inferior to the worst MD, unless you are comparing an NP working in a subspecialty office with 20 years experience to a general practitioner and the medical problem is something that NP does every day.
What’s a ‘yellow review?’