Lately though, one issue that has become increasingly troublesome is the use of the word “provider” as a blanket term to cover any professional who provides healthcare. I did not go to provider school, but rather medical school, followed by 4 years of psychiatric training before starting my own practice back in 1993. I am and will remain a doctor, NOT a provider. Recently, I spoke with a friend of mine who works as an attorney for an insurance company in their contracts department. She explained that insurers use the word provider in their language as a short cut. Ok, I can see that, but the problem runs so much deeper reducing the word count in a contract.
In her MommyDoc blog, Dr. Niran Al-Agba, a pediatrician in the state of Washington writes:
“Provider” was first utilized by The Third Reich, who embraced this moniker to degrade Jewish physicians as medical professionals. The historic root and use of the word “provider” deserves our attention and reflection because if we forget the tragic mistakes of history, we may be doomed to repeat them. While the more recent movement to disrespect the education and training of physicians was the brainchild of the federal government and corporatized medicine, this disdain for medical expertise has occurred before–to Jewish physicians living in Germany in 1937, before World War II. (https://peds-mommydoc.blogspot.com/2019/02/if-you-call-me-provider-i-will-assume.html)
In their article “Promoting Trust and Morale by Changing How the Word Provider Is Used,” JAMA. 2021;325(23):2343-2344 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34047757/, John W. Beasley, MD1; Richard G. Roberts, MD, JD1; Allan H. Goroll, MD2 write:
Use of the term provider in health care originated in government and insurance sectors to designate health care delivery organizations. In 1965, Medicare began using provider for entities qualifying to receive Medicare reimbursement.1 Over the years, the use of the term has expanded to include an ever-enlarging set of individual health care professionals who qualify for payment, especially those in primary care, in addition to institutions (eg, hospitals, clinics, treatment centers) and third-party payers. As such, the term has become part of everyday language in health care delivery, for example, the popular use of the phrase primary care provider. While convenient and a source of pride for some, such use also poses risk for unintentional and potentially detrimental consequences.
I don’t equate insurance companies with Nazis, hate crimes, or the persecution of anyone considered “other.” Instead I aim to draw a line connecting the past and present and highlight the more sinister undertones of the term provider. As doctors we are being diluted and marginalized by the influx of less trained “providers.” Our field is being squeezed more and more by profit driven insurance companies, health care administration “systems,” hedge funds and private equity firms. If “provider” stands for any health care professional, where is the distinction?
