Commentary

What’s in a Name? The Problematic Term “Provider”

Fed Pract. 2021 October;38(10):446-448 | 10.12788/fp.0188

References

2. Saenger P. Jewish pediatricians in Nazi Germany: victims of persecution. Isr Med Assoc J. 2006;8(5):324-328.

3. Nasrallah HA. We are physicians, not providers, and we treat patients, not clients! Curr Psychiatr. 2020;19(2):5-7,29.

4. Paydarfar D, Schwartz WJ. A piece of my mind. Dear provider. JAMA. 2011;305(20):2046-2047. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.702

5. Student Health Organization. Grant Proposal of Student Health Organization. Summer Project of the South Bronx, 1967. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, unpublished.

6. Clines FX. Doctors face ban on sale of bills. New York Times. February 25, 1970:51

7. The National Health Planning and Resource Development Act of 1974. 42 USC § 300 (1975).

8. American Academy of Family Physicians. Provider, use of term (Position paper). Published 2018. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/provider.html

9. Sanniec K, Gellis M. I am not a medical provider; I am a doctor. Aesthet Surg J. 2013;33(5):749-750. doi:10.1177/1090820X13487017

10. Goroll AH. Eliminating the term primary care “provider”: consequences of language for the future of primary care. JAMA. 2016;315(17):1833-1834. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.2329

11. Lee BY. Time to stop labeling physicians as providers. Published May 5, 2019. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2019/05/05/time-to-stop-labeling-physicians-as-providers/?sh=7edfc865118e

12. Dhand S, Carbone WJ. Physicians are not providers: An open letter to the AMA and medical boards. Published November 30, 2015. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2015/11/physicians-are-not-providers-an-open-letter-to-the-ama-and-medical-boards.html

13. Al-Agba N. If you call me a provider, I will assume you are a Nazi. Published February 8, 2019. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://thedeductible.com/2019/02/08/if-you-call-me-a-provider-i-will-assume-you-are-a-nazi

14. Weiss JM. Physician or surgeon, but not “provider.” Published February 5, 2020. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-in-medicine/202002/physician-or-surgeon-not-provider

15. Liao L. Providers or professionals: how our conceptions of physician as machine or person lead to burnout. Med Teach. 2021;43(2):234-236. doi:10.1080/0142159X.2020.1769049

16. Weiss J. ‘Physician’ not ‘provider’ is better for doctor and patient. Published December 16, 2019. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://permanente.org/physician-not-provider-is-better-for-doctor-and-patient

17. Definition of Health Care Provider. 29 CFR § 825.125 (1993).

Reversing the Trend

Increasing awareness among patients, their families, health professions students, and health care colleagues and administrators of the importance of traditional nomenclature is a first step in reversing this trend or mitigating its impact. If an overarching generic term is required, then health care professional, clinician, or practitioner are preferred.^10,12 Fifteen years ago, the Southern California Permanente Medical Group prohibited the use of the word provider to describe physicians, and its editorial style deemed it cold and institutional.¹⁶ Many, but not all, state, regional, or national medical associations and journals avoid provider in their names or titles.

I am encouraged that this journal—drawing its audience from several government health care agencies—is named Federal Practitioner rather than Federal Provider. This is reasonable and accurate, as practitioner refers to the practice of a profession, usually associated with health care.

I hope other professions can resist this trend. Lawyers are not considered legal aid providers, and teachers are not called knowledge providers.³ We do not refer to airline pilots as air transportation providers or musicians as instrument-playing melody providers. Many veterans likely would be offended if they were referred to as Constitution support and defense providers rather than by the military branch-specific titles that they earned through dedication, training, and sacrifice. The individuals in these examples demonstrate commitment to representing clients, educating students, flying passengers, playing instruments, or ensuring national defense. As health care professionals, our commitment to treating patients is equally important.⁴

Language matters when it comes to people feeling respected and achieving their full potential.¹ I encourage government health care agencies to stop referring to us as providers and resume using traditional nomenclature. This will demonstrate genuine respect for us, transparency for the patients we serve, and recognition that caring for the sick is a calling, not a commodity.

Dedication

The author dedicates this article to his father John E. Scarff, Jr, a physician and United States Army veteran.

References

1. Beasley JW, Roberts RG, Goroll AH. Promoting trust and morale by changing how the word provider is used: encouraging specificity and transparency. JAMA. 2021;325(23):2343-2344. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.6046

2. Saenger P. Jewish pediatricians in Nazi Germany: victims of persecution. Isr Med Assoc J. 2006;8(5):324-328.

3. Nasrallah HA. We are physicians, not providers, and we treat patients, not clients! Curr Psychiatr. 2020;19(2):5-7,29.

4. Paydarfar D, Schwartz WJ. A piece of my mind. Dear provider. JAMA. 2011;305(20):2046-2047. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.702

5. Student Health Organization. Grant Proposal of Student Health Organization. Summer Project of the South Bronx, 1967. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, unpublished.

6. Clines FX. Doctors face ban on sale of bills. New York Times. February 25, 1970:51

7. The National Health Planning and Resource Development Act of 1974. 42 USC § 300 (1975).

8. American Academy of Family Physicians. Provider, use of term (Position paper). Published 2018. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/provider.html

9. Sanniec K, Gellis M. I am not a medical provider; I am a doctor. Aesthet Surg J. 2013;33(5):749-750. doi:10.1177/1090820X13487017

10. Goroll AH. Eliminating the term primary care “provider”: consequences of language for the future of primary care. JAMA. 2016;315(17):1833-1834. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.2329

11. Lee BY. Time to stop labeling physicians as providers. Published May 5, 2019. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2019/05/05/time-to-stop-labeling-physicians-as-providers/?sh=7edfc865118e

12. Dhand S, Carbone WJ. Physicians are not providers: An open letter to the AMA and medical boards. Published November 30, 2015. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2015/11/physicians-are-not-providers-an-open-letter-to-the-ama-and-medical-boards.html

13. Al-Agba N. If you call me a provider, I will assume you are a Nazi. Published February 8, 2019. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://thedeductible.com/2019/02/08/if-you-call-me-a-provider-i-will-assume-you-are-a-nazi

14. Weiss JM. Physician or surgeon, but not “provider.” Published February 5, 2020. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-in-medicine/202002/physician-or-surgeon-not-provider

15. Liao L. Providers or professionals: how our conceptions of physician as machine or person lead to burnout. Med Teach. 2021;43(2):234-236. doi:10.1080/0142159X.2020.1769049

16. Weiss J. ‘Physician’ not ‘provider’ is better for doctor and patient. Published December 16, 2019. Accessed September 22, 2021. https://permanente.org/physician-not-provider-is-better-for-doctor-and-patient

17. Definition of Health Care Provider. 29 CFR § 825.125 (1993).

What’s in a Name? The Problematic Term “Provider”

References

Reversing the Trend

Pages

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