Open AccessDoctors Are Caregivers or Providers? Patients Are Clients?
Author(s) -
Richard Conti C.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
clinical cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.263
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1932-8737
pISSN - 0160-9289
DOI - 10.1002/clc.20414
Subject(s) - medicine , medline , family medicine , nursing , medical emergency , law , political science
When I began medical school in 1956, physicians were always referred to as doctors and sick persons were always referred to as patients. In recent times, those of us who are physicians are often referred to as caregivers or providers by administrative staff, and the sick individuals we treat are often referred to as clients. Why this has happened and who decided to use these terms escapes me. I suspect it has something to do with reimbursement, and that someone other than physicians made the call. Copyright © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.