Are You a Clinician, Provider, or Vendor?

The authors of the American College of Physicians (ACP) paper began by citing a source from 1999 that said the commercialization of healthcare would lead to a weakening of a medical caregiver’s ability to practice in accordance with standards of medical ethics and professionalism, calling it “deprofessionalization.” Referring to physicians as providers undermines their ethical obligations, clinical integrity, accountability, and trust with patients, they argued. How does terminology affect the perception of physicians and O&P professionals?

The ACP paper addresses the effects—intentional or not—that word choice in healthcare can have, asking, “Has language helped cause these shifts, is language a result of them, or are both true?”