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| The Winds of Change: Even a Decade Later |
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by Marcos A. Vargas, MSHA, PA-C - November 28, 2011
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As a practicing PA for the past 22 years I’ve seen my fair share of internal and external changes in our day-to-day lives. In fact, throughout that time, I saw some non-foreseeable changes ever imagined in one’s lifetime or career at the time. For instance, the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequently the fall of communism in Eastern Europe are two great examples of this.
And in the other hand some foreseeable ones, like the increased recognition and acceptance of our role in the ever-evolving healthcare industry as the latter one.
However, who could have imagined, that a revolutionary and novel idea such as medical error disclosure would have shown some of the reaping benefits that were are beginning to see a decade later. All introduced at the time by that famous landmark study entitled “To Err is Human…” published by the Institute of Medicine who along with JCAHO & other stakeholders began championing this great concept/mindset back in the mid to late nineties.
Interesting & sadly enough, there were those who opposed this novel idea. Some even theorized that this new Patient-Safety Movement Initiative was doomed to ridicule and failure, and all because we lived in a different paradigm: “the blame culture” & “deny and defend” at any cost, as we were indoctrinated when our patients would suffer an untoward event or medical mishap. Yet despite the hurdles, this much needed “Renaissance” view of our very fragmented industry and litigious society, began to grow.
Begrudgingly we began understanding our own shortcomings and negative attitudes, it’s during this time when we began improving our healthcare delivery safety record. But more so, by discarding those bad habits and incorporating our newly found knowledge and ethos as attested by the passage of “Apology” Statutes in thirty-five states of the union and with more to be passed in the near future.
We’ve for sure come a long way from those days, yet, much needs to be done and accomplished, and while we’re not there yet, we must continue to educate & advocate for patient safety initiatives if one is to enjoy the winds of change.
Clearly, if we are to practice enlightened medicine, then we can no longer afford to be paternalistic nor disengaged nor indifferent to the plight of our patients. In addition to these, and as a final qualifier, we are to discard risky –non-evidence based – outmoded clinical practices.
We also must seek to solidify and enact these balanced patient-provider statutes in every single state of the union.
 Marcos A. Vargas, MSHA, PA-C is a Boston born and Puerto Rican bred individual who has an extensive healthcare industry background, both industry-related as a Pharmacy Technician during his undergraduate years, and industry-specific as a dually N.C.C.P.A. certified Physician Assistant in Surgery and Primary care after graduating from the University of Alabama—Birmingham Physician/Surgeon’s Assistant Program. He has held clinical positions in Cardiothoracic, General Surgery, & Emergency Medicine over the past twenty years. He holds a Master’s in Science Administration from Central Michigan University and a Healthcare Risk Management graduate certificate. He has been retained and consulted regularly by both plaintiff & defense law firms over the past 14 years. During this time, he has served as both a consulting medical reviewer and a PA expert. Marcos has lectured on Clinical Risk Management (PA) issues throughout the years to various Michigan-based PA Training Programs. He has done the same for lay audiences, covering a wide range of “Wellness” topics. He has been a supporter and associate member of numerous professional clinical and non-clinical organizations. Currently he is employed as an orthopedic PA at HMC.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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