Washington State Medical Association Launches 'Your Care Is at Our Core' Advocacy Campaign

State medical association's patient-focused campaign aims to strengthen the bond between physicians and patients in Washington state.

SEATTLE, WA, UNITED STATES, October 14, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Washington State Medical Association is proud to launch the Your Care Is at Our Core campaign in partnership with the American Medical Association to highlight the importance of the patient-physician relationship.

Physicians in Washington state and across the country have faced growing challenges ignited by battles over the COVID-19 pandemic, prevalence of mis- and dis-information, administrative burdens, and the politicalization of health care.

These factors have created an unnecessary crack in the patient-physician relationship that we intend to mend.

The data speaks for itself: A vast majority of patients agree that the patient-doctor relationship is central to health care, that physicians should be central to treatment decisions and care; and that red tape bureaucracy makes it harder for physicians to provide the best care to patients.

Over the last several years, decisions made by third parties like insurance companies and others in health care have dramatically limited the time physicians can spend with their patients. From insurer prior authorizations that delay needed care to access issues resulting from reimbursements that don’t cover the cost of care, physicians are spending more and more of their time and energy fighting to ensure their patients can access the care they need. Adding to their frustration, physicians then find they often are blamed for these third-party intrusions into the patient-physician relationship.

Physicians understand that time spent listening to, responding to, and treating patients is essential to providing the quality care patients deserve. Health care can be an especially vulnerable space for patients, and establishing a meaningful relationship is necessary to build trust and provide the most effective care and treatment.

“Physicians enter the practice medicine because they are caring, compassionate, and genuinely want to help others,” says WSMA President John Bramhall, MD, PhD. “They are very protective of the time they spend with their patients—time to have questions answered, time for a second look, time to make the best choices together to provide the best quality care. Time spent arguing with insurers over care decisions or fighting for reimbursements just to cover the basic costs of the care being provided is time stolen from their patients. Physicians are patients’ best advocates, and it’s way past time for us to push back together against artificial barriers that prevent patients from accessing timely, needed care and that keep physicians trapped in a cycle of frustration and burnout.”

Physicians are fighting alongside their patients. We look forward to amplifying their efforts through the Your Care Is at Our Core campaign and hope you will continue to follow along.

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About the Washington State Medical Association
The Washington State Medical Association represents nearly 13,000 physicians, physician assistants, resident physicians, and medical students across all specialties and practice types in Washington state. The WSMA has advocated on behalf of the house of medicine for more than 125 years. Our vision is to make Washington state the best place to practice medicine and receive care.

About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association is the physician’s powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises, and driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.

Graham Short
Washington State Medical Association
+1 206-329-6851
gfs@wsma.org