There's an article by Atul Gawande in the New Yorker that, for me, captures exactly why the NPA is an essential organization at this moment in history.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande?yrail
The author visits regions of the country where healthcare is very expensive, and places where it's very cheap. He finds doctors who are thinking mostly about profit, versus doctors thinking about what's best for their patients. He concludes that all the insurance reforms and public plans will not solve our healthcare problems. Only when medicine returns to a patient-centered focus will we be able to control costs. Changing the culture of the medical profession is not just a lofty goal, it's an economic necessity.
To me, there is no more powerful argument than this for why the NPA exists and must continue to grow. Gawande connects something that even the most hardened conservative cares about --- the growth of healthcare costs --- to something that we all believe, the need to rebuild the covenant between patients and doctors.
I would urge everyone to read this article, or at least the conclusion. His way of framing the subject is the perfect tool to recruit supporters to our cause in general and our organization in particular.
NPA NY is a local action network of the National Physicians Alliance.
The National Physicians Alliance is committed to advancing the core values of the medical profession:
Service, Integrity, and Advocacy.
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