Posted: | March 6, 2020 03:58 PM |
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From: | Representative Dan Frankel |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Patient Trust |
Trust is an invisible, key ingredient in the health care relationship. The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the New England Journal of Medicine, have all stated that honest, open and accurate conversations are essential to quality patient care. That trust is at risk – in this Commonwealth and around the country. Just recently the PA House of Representatives passed legislation dictating conversations between pregnant women and their doctors, and establishing prohibitions on medical decision-making based on fetal diagnosis. Other examples of incursions into the provider-patient relationship include:
These proposals contradict appropriate patient-centered care and best practices and can force health care providers to choose between their ethical mandate to provide the best possible care and following the rule of law. The Patient Trust Act creates protections for providers and patients from this government interference. It would prevent the Commonwealth and all political subdivisions from requiring a health care practitioner to provide a patient with information that is not medically accurate and medically appropriate for the patient, or providing a medical service that is not evidence-based and patient-appropriate. Additionally, health care practitioners would not be prohibited from sharing medically accurate information with their patients. We must protect the trust between patients and their providers by protecting medical professionals from government laws and regulations that violate the best interest of their patients. I ask that you join me in this important endeavor. |