FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sermo Announces 10,000 US Physicians Oppose Current Healthcare Bill in Advance of President Obama's Address
New Survey Rejects Healthcare Bill - Physicians Outline Ways to Improve Patient Care and Lower Costs
Cambridge, MA, July 22, 2009 — US physicians across the nation are speaking out on Sermo (http://www.sermo.com), the world's largest online physician's community, in advance of tonight's Presidential Address on the Healthcare Reform Plan. In survey results released by Sermo this evening, 9,904 physicians have overwhelmingly voted that they do not support the House Healthcare Bill (H.R. 3200) as written, and they have identified the key issues that must be addressed to promote quality healthcare for their patients. The survey was conducted among US licensed physicians, between July 17, 2009 and today.
"The Sermo survey, a response to the uproar in our US physician community, was triggered by the AMA's endorsement of the House Healthcare Bill," said Dr. Daniel Palestrant, CEO of Sermo, "and hundreds of additional survey responses continue to pour in each hour." Specific survey results include:
- 94% of physicians who responded (9,904) do not endorse the House Healthcare Bill as it is currently written.
- 95% of physicians state the AMA does not speak for them in endorsing the House Healthcare Bill.
- 0% of the top healthcare issues cited by physicians are addressed in the House Healthcare Bill.
"Physicians, in overwhelming numbers, don't understand how the AMA could agree to this plan, much less within 36 hours of receiving the 1000-plus page bill," continued Palestrant. "There was literally no time for anyone to provide input to AMA leadership who are supposed to be advocating for physicians. Clearly, this bill perpetuates the AMA's core revenue streams and has nothing to do with advocating for the physician community. This is a missed opportunity as the overwhelming sentiment among Sermo physicians is: healthcare reform is urgently needed. In choosing to put their own financial interests ahead of those of physicians and patients, the AMA has created a major obstacle to healthcare reform."
Physicians Want Healthcare Reform
As early as 14 months ago, physicians made history on Sermo by drafting the "Open Letter from America's Physicians." Penned collectively by more than 1,000 physicians and signed by 14,030 physicians to date, the Open Letter outlined the most crucial challenges physicians face in delivering appropriate patient care. Not coincidentally, the same top issues surfaced in the Sermo survey results released this evening. "The country needs healthcare reform. The current healthcare system is strained and unsustainable for any of us," noted Dr. Justin Grady Matrisciano with the Partner-Long Island Diabetes & Endocrinology Associates of Stony Brook (NY). "Physicians are uniquely qualified to speak on what's needed to deliver optimal patient care in a cost-effective manner. We're in the middle of the healthcare battle every day, struggling to keep good outcomes for our patients as our number one priority while battling insurance companies and others to get our patients the care they need."
Physicians Outline Top Issues to Promote Quality Patient Care
"The physician community has lost faith in traditional efforts," claims Palestrant, "and advocacy groups such as the AMA have failed to convey their members' concerns effectively and should no longer speak for them." Physicians are directing thousands of their peers to Sermo where their voices can be heard and their issues communicated directly to President Obama:
- Reduce the insurance industry's undue authority and oppressive control over healthcare processes.
- Reduce the excessive and misguided government administrative costs (15-40 cents of every dollar spent on healthcare) that require physicians to spend more time on documentation than with their patients.
- Revisit malpractice reform requiring physicians to practice "defensive medicine" in response to a harmful and costly legal environment.
- Do not expand Medicaid and Medicare without addressing reimbursement deficits.
- Limit and clarify the role of non-physician practitioners (NPs, PAs, CRNAs, etc.) in the healthcare process to ensure the proper oversight and decision-making authority from trained physicians.
About the Survey Respondents
9,904 total Sermo physicians responded to an online Sermo survey conducted between July 17 and July 22, 2009. These respondents represent 94% (64 of 68) of all Sermo specialty categories and all 50 states. The median age of responding physicians is 49 years old, with a median of 25 years of practice experience . The responding physician population is representative of the US physician population with respect to geographic regional distribution, age and most specialties. All respondents are verified and credentialed, ensuring they have valid, active licenses to practice medicine in the United States. Physician respondents work in practices of all sizes in all major urban and remote rural locations across the Unites States.
About Sermo
Sermo is where more than 100,000 US physicians collaborate on difficult cases, share clinical observations and work together to achieve better patient outcomes than each could individually. Sermo's platform enables physicians to aggregate observations from their daily practice, then rapidly and in large numbers challenge or corroborate each other's opinions. Sermo offers clients in healthcare companies, financial services institutions and government agencies a range of mechanisms to engage directly with US physicians. Leveraging aspects of social network theory, prediction markets and arbitrage, subscribing clients can access a stream of fresh, actionable information on emerging trends and market-changing events in healthcare. Visit http://www.sermo.com.
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Dr. Daniel Palestrant's blog: www.sermo.com/blog
Press Contact:
Gina Ashe
Sermo, Inc.
P:617–245–0105
E: gashe@sermo.com
Jackie Thrasivoulos
Jacquelyn Thrasivoulos PR
P: 508 881 3109
E: jthrasi@comcast.net
