Great Expectations
Daniel Pio, MD
In politics, healthcare is always a big topic. The range of suggested policy changes is expansive and it seems like every other week there is a new bill being introduced that could majorly impact our profession. In this, an election year, we are being inundated with information. Over and over again the plea of “Get involved!” presents itself. With so many groups making the request, it must be important, so why is it so hard to accommodate such a request? Why do so many people feel overwhelmed by the prospect of advocating for their patients? I have heard concerns with the complexity of the issues, lack of time and lack of training all cited as reasons why people avoid advocacy. While I agree that most policy leaves me with a puzzled look on my face, and I certainly empathize with the lack of time, I wholeheartedly disagree with the lack of training. People say that physicians are not trained on how to approach policy and population health, but the same techniques we use in the office are more than a sufficient advocacy foundation.
Politicians, for the most part, will at least acknowledge something you have to say to them. They just might not do anything about it. I cannot tell you how many times I have patients agree with my plan only to return on a follow up visit having completely ignored everything we talked about. Is this frustrating? Absolutely. Does this mean I am giving up? No way. In the same way experience tells us that buy-in for chronic disease management requires multiple follow ups, influencing policy makers takes a lot of repeat messaging.
New bills are introduced throughout the year. Each time we need people to support or oppose them. Having a presence might be the easiest translatable skill. Family doctors are the masters of showing up to things. We show up to deliveries in the middle of the night. We show up to round before the sun comes up. We show up to community clinics when it is raining. You will not be on the clock, but at least our chapter meetings come with dinner. Beyond meetings you can make phone call, write emails, or just talk to friends and family. All these options and that is not even considering the conferences, volunteer events, and lobby days that take place every year. Choose anything and show up and just like that you are involved.
Worried that you might make the wrong decision about a controversial topic? We have a full time staff at the California Academy of Family Physicians working on translating legislative gibberish into English and teasing out the subtleties of each policy. So that part is already taken care of. You have the resources to make an informed opinion.
There are so many parallels between working on population level topics and what I have been seeing through all of my training and career. The last lobby day I participated in I got about 10 minutes of face time with my legislator. I was trying to present complex information in a clear manner to someone trying to force an outcome based on faulty information. I can honestly say that is also how I could describe the majority of my daily appointments. The difference is my day would be so much smoother if could bring along a huge group of colleagues like when I talked to my assemblyman. While aspects of “getting involved” may seem daunting at times, family doctors are well suited for it. All we need to do be present and persistent… well that, and bring a friend.
