Letters
Freedom and power for salaried
docs
To the Editor:
I enjoyed reading the Salaried FP department by Richard E. Thompson, MD, in your January 1998 issue (see "How to Exercise Power With Limited Authority").
I think it is very important for physicians to realize that they can control the health care system. Primary care physicians control 70 percent to 80 percent of the flow of health care dollars, and all health care is delivered through physicians' ink pens.
Promoting physician autonomy even when the physician is salaried is a great help to the progress of medicine.
William J. Epperson, MD
Murrells Inlet, S.C.
Pack rats wanted
To the
Editor:
The article "Taming Your Desk" (January 1998) discussed the ever-present need to manage the paperwork mountain in an office and gave sound advice.
I am concerned, however, that readers eager to clean out their files might inadvertently destroy archival material. The Archives for Family Practice devotes a lot of time, effort and space to preserving the history of our specialty and encourages contributions from anyone involved in the history of family medicine. It is important that we preserve our past to help improve the future and to furnish reference points for our progress.
Sam A. Nixon, MD
Nixon, Texas
Response:
The Archives for Family Practice was established in 1992 to serve as the historical repository for the specialty of family practice. Its collecting focus includes records of individual family physicians, particularly materials that document how a family physician's office operates at a given point in time.
If you think you might have important materials or would like more
information, please contact the Archives, 8880 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, MO
64114; 800-274-2237, ext. 3310. Or send an
E-mail to
acurran@aafp.org.
Angela D. Curran, MHA
AAFP Archivist
Resources for the doctor-patient
relationship
To the Editor:
I very much enjoyed your article "Patient-Centered Care for Better Patient Adherence" (March 1998). Unfortunately, I think the author inadvertently omitted a couple of things that would have made the article complete. The article mentions Common Ground Solutions and Comsort but does not provide contact information for the organizations.
Second, two books by Frederic W. Platt, MD, are alluded to but without mention of their titles:
- Conversation Failure: Case Studies in Doctor-Patient Communication. Tacoma, Wash: Life-Sciences Press; 1992.
- Conversation Repair: Case Studies in Doctor-Patient Communication. Boston: Little, Brown & Co; 1995.
Ralph P. Naftaly, DO
Naperville, Ill.
Editor's note:
To reach Common Ground Solutions, write to Debbie Bertram, 605 NE La Costa, Lee's Summit, MO 64064; or call 816-478-1711. Comsort's address is 2300 N. Charles St., Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21218-5137; its phone number is 410-467-1100.
CPR isn't what it used to
be
To the Editor:
After reading the March 1998 Letters department, which was filled with the abbreviation CPR (computerized patient record), I was almost in need of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)!
While I value advancements in technology, I sometimes wonder whether the physician is becoming a robot, being programmed to follow certain directives instead of using his or her good judgment.
William M. Fuchs, MD
Huntington, N.Y.
We want to hear from you. Letters is an open forum for our readers. Write to Letters Editor, Family Practice Management, 8880 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, MO 64114-2797. If you prefer, fax your letter to 816-333-0303. You may also contact FPM by E-mail at fpmlet@aafp.org. Include your address, daytime phone number and fax number, if any. Letters may be edited for length and style. All letters sent to the editors of FPM are presumed to be intended for publication unless otherwise specified in the text of the letter.
Copyright © 1998 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
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