Mission: Healing, July 8, 2011, ACPE Post

This is my latest post on the American College of Physician Executives discussion regarding, Why Physician Leaders are not Leading Health Care Reform. I am advocating the start of a new paradigm. Specifically, I think it is a good time to start a Non Profit Doctor-Patient Health Care Cooperative. I think I made a couple Executive Physicians angry. What do you think?
This is what I said early this morning ...
"Doctors:
This is a great discussion from my perspective.  Why? Because front line docs are talking with Physician Leaders & some are paying attention.  Sorry, Dr. Cardinal, but, with all due respect, physician leaders and especially physician executives need to work the front lines.  Why?  It keeps them honest and aligned with the healing mission.
I have never been there, but I have heard and read that respected Generals work the front lines with their troops and their boots on the ground. They may not man the machine guns, rifles, tanks and other weapons, but they are in there with the troops & they understand the war.
I have not had the honor of working for Geisinger, but I have worked front lines, administrative lines, academic lines, public health lines and research lines in many environments, and in institutions ranging from my own private rural medical practice in Maine, to academic Critical Care Anesthesiology Divisions at SUNY in Syracuse, Tulane in New Orleans & WVUH Morgantown. Maybe Geisinger is different, but I have never seen any PEs or PLs in the Intensive Care Units or Operating Rooms. Closest I have been to a PE was the hug I got from Paul Whelton AFTER evacuation from Tulane, where I had the honor of serving during Katrina and the days that followed ... he was the only one around and i admire him for that.  All the others have been ... well, I just don't know where they have been.  I only know where they have not been and I do know how it has been on those front lines.  I do know that few have been listening.
So, nevertheless, I have begun this PGY 39 still committed to the Healing mission & the oath that I took upon graduation ... on the front lines (and all the other lines) ... still optimistic ... because joy comes from the DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP ... & this is a labor of love.  I am still optimistic about the Healing Mission, but not about the "business of medicine".  Medicine will survive ... the business of medicine will not.
ACPE is the only professional organization I have ever joined that has been supportive & worth the money.  ACPE has enabled my continued growth as a physican-healer-administrator-teacher-researcher.  I am wondering if it is an organization that can support us in in the creation of a new paradigm that is destined to survive.  I am wondering if it is going to be a part of the solution, or not.  We will see.  So far, so good ... this dialog is a good start.
Dr. Mike"