Physicians Are Not Providers: The Ethical Significance of Names in Health Care: A Policy Paper From the American College of Physicians

More than 25 years ago, Pellegrino and Relman noted the increasing commercialization of the learned professions, anticipating what many physicians are increasingly experiencing today: an impairment of their ability to practice in accordance with standards of medical ethics and professionalism. These hurdles to the physician's ability to do right by the patient contribute to what leaders in medicine and the American College of Physicians have called deprofessionalization. An example is the use of the term <i>provider</i> to describe physicians and other health professionals. The use of this terminology has been reviewed in medical journal articles but has not been adequately explored as a matter of ethics and professionalism. Through that lens, this paper examines the trends, significance, and implications for patients, physicians, and health care of the use of the term <i>provider</i>.