What's in a name?
CMAJ 1997;157:1015
In response to "Patient or client? If in doubt, ask" (CMAJ 1997;157:287-9 [full text / résumé]), by Dr. Peter Wing, I would like to point out that a similar and not quite so subtle psychological attack on the medical profession occurred with the introduction of medicare in Saskatchewan several decades ago. At the time the CCF government routinely referred to doctors' offices as "doctors' workshops." This removed physicians from consideration as professionals who ran offices. Instead, they became workers with "workshops" where they carried out repairs on bodies.
Labelling patients as clients similarly removes physicians from consideration as participants in a special relationship with a "sufferer," instead denoting them as business people carrying out work for their "clientele," just like any other worker.
In both cases, a negative attitude toward the medical profession is revealed. Both are attempts to diminish our stature in the eyes of the public.
William B. Houston, MD
Penticton, BC
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