MSDC Joins AMA Letter Opposing Redefining "Physician" September 23, 2020

On Tuesday, the American Medical Association released the final version of a sign-on letter to Congress opposing a provision in the "Medicare Mental Health Access Act" which would redefine the term "physician".

The bill would expand the definition of physician to include clinical psychologists, who do not have the same intensive medical training or prescribing ability as physicians. MSDC signed the letter and joined other state medical societies and national specialty societies in opposing the change.

As the letter states:

Expanding the term “physician” to include clinical psychologists under the Medicare Program, thereby removing the team-based care approach and improperly expanding psychologists' scope of practice, would have far reaching and negative impacts on patients seeking psychiatric care. Physicians complete four years of medical school plus three to seven years of residency, including 10,000-16,000 hours of clinical training. Our colleague psychologists are an essential part of a physician led patient care team, however, they lack the requisite medical education, medication management training, and clinical training that is critical in determining differential diagnosis and do not fit the definition of a physician.

You can view the entire letter here.