The chess match between health systems and payers and a collaborative checkmate - for patients and their physicians

Santina Wheat MD,MPH penned an article for SoMeDocs(Doctors on Social Media), which should deeply resonate with CMS, HHS, legislatures, and the American Medical Association.

Can we emerge from the pressure of America's transactional system, which has evolved from decades of chess-like moves between insurers, hospitals, government, public policy, private investors, and the gatekeepers of advancement to medical certification?

From Dr. Wheat: "A patient’s family member looked me in the eye and said, 'I do not trust you. You are just part of the system. At the time, I struggled with pride in my profession and fear of the system, wondering how we had reached such a state.

"That experience became a turning point, forcing me to reflect on what it truly means to care for someone—not just medically, but as a human being."

Can the ability to care for someone "as a human being" be a reasonable expectation for physicians paid on volume? Physicians who are now overwhelmingly "employees" of the health care systems so large and diverse that they are morphing into provider-insurers, or as Eric Bricker, MD calls them, "payviders?"

In 2025 and beyond, virtual care, telehealth, CCM, chronic disease management, better biomedical technology, and dedicated patient care managers will provide the release valves for all of this pressure. Care managers monitor and coordinate care, aligning it with physicians' care plans and best practices without overburdening providers.

Without these mechanisms, how will we ever reduce the cognitive burden and psychological effects of physicians racing to keep up with post-COVID illnesses, a generation aging into chronic disease, family interactions, and the daily chess match with payers?

If you want to reference success stories using this approach, send me a direct message, and I can offer insights. You can also look at Prisma Health, UnityPoint Health, Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists, and others that have embraced this model.

Humanity in Healthcare: Rediscovering Purpose in a Challenging System | SoMeDocs: Doctors on Social Media

https://doctorsonsocialmedia.com