INFRINGEMENT: FREEDOM OF SPEECH/MEDICAL DOCTORS by Neil Shulman MD

INFRINGEMENT: FREEDOM OF SPEECH: MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

The United States is a country where freedom of speech is supposed to be a basic right. Administrative power and personal wealth should not give any American the right to infringe on one’s freedom of speech. MANY DOCTORS FEEL THAT a downturn in the economy can create an UPSWING IN VOLUNTEERISM. LACK OF MONEY DOES NOT HAVE TO MEAN A LACK OF SERVICES. MANY OF THESE DOCTORS
ARE VERY CRITICAL OF BLATANTLY INSANE POLICIES BUT ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT FOR FEAR OF PERSONAL REPERCUSIONS.

There are many caring doctors and other health care professionals who intentionally take lower paying jobs and/or volunteer their services because their goal in life in NOT TO MAXIMIZE THEIR BANK ACCOUNT OF MONEY BUT RATHER TO MAXIMIZE THEIR BANK ACCOUNT OF GOOD DEEDS. Many of these people have more global insights into the life-threatening impact and economic inefficiences of certain institutional and political policies. HOWEVER, IN MANY INSTANCES, THERE ARE ATTEMPTS TO INFRINGE ON THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH OF THESE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. Even well meaning journalists who wish to expose certain inefficiencies in humane health policies are often restricted from reporting.these stories. The executives of these media outlets are too often fearful of “losing revenue” from advertisers when such ‘CONTROVERSIAL” news stories are reported.

THE FOLLOWING ARE A FEW EXSAMPLES OF INSANE POLICIES WHICH FRUSTATE MANY “CARING” HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS EVERY DAY:

1. Medicaid rules which DO NOT ALLOW COVERAGE TO REMOVE AN EARLY CANCER BUT REQUIRE PATIENTS TO WAIT UNTIL IT SPREADS THROUGHOUT THEIR BODY.

2. Managers of health care institutions who prohibit cooperative institutional volunteeerism in order to address health care needs of the poor. Example: Executives of dialysis clinics NOT JOINING TOGETHER to keep uninsured patients with kidney failure alive.

3. Executives of hospitals not joining together to provide a few weeks supply of free essential medications to hospitalized uninsured poor patients upon discharge. The reality is often that these patients DO NOT HAVE INSTANT ACCESS TO MONEY OR TRANSPORTATION TO OBTAIN THESE MEDS thus they bounce back to hospital emergency rooms …………uneccesary personal suffering and avoidable expensive rehospitalizations.

4. Incremental increases in upfront fees for outpatient visits with NO EXCEPTIONS.
Therefore patients with VERY LIMITED RESOURCES can’t get essential refills of medications thus they suffer/bouncing back for expensive emergency room visits when their chronic illnesses become life-threatening.

5. Pharmaceutical companies often blast the public with PR CAMPAIGNS about
free medication programs for the poor HOWEVER the companies often create so many time-consuming roadblocks for instant access to these medications that health care professionals cannot get the meds to the patients in a timely manner.

I DO NOT SPEAK FOR MYSELF ALONE BUT FOR MANY HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE AFRAID OF NEGATIVE PERSONAL CONSEQUENCES IF THEY SPEAK OUT ON THESE ISSUES.

Neil Shulman MD
Atlanta,Georgia