Opinion
Tell it like it is: Doctors need fair pay for services, not "reimbursement"
LETTER — Posted March 9, 2009
Regarding "Florida projects worsening doctor shortage" (Article, Jan. 22): Please consider reducing or eliminating the use of "reimbursement" when you mean "payment." For example, the article's first subheading reads "Too little reimbursement, too much bureaucracy." Reimbursement means repayment. Webster's dictionary defines reimbursement as compensation for damages or losses or money spent. Patients who pay at the time of service should be reimbursed by their insurers, and physicians who lay out money for injectable medications and vaccines should be reimbursed for their costs, but payment for evaluation and management services is not reimbursement.
Is there a reason why we physicians can't get payment for our services? Is reimbursement a euphemism to make it sound like we're not asking to be paid fairly? Surely other professionals expect to be paid for their services.
There are times when medical terminology provides precision lacking in everyday English, but there are other times when we must say what we mean and not misuse words to obfuscate or mislead.
Alan G. Pocinki, MD, Washington, D.C.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/03/09/edlt0309.htm.
