September

The editorial “Ah, the good ol’ days. Nary an orphan in sight.” (BCMJ 2016;58:244) provided a simplistic description of the growth of hospital medicine (a.k.a., hospitalist programs) in BC. It also included a number of misleading statements.

References

Thank you for your response letter to my editorial. I have great respect for my hardworking hospitalist colleagues and meant no disrespect. My piece reflects the statistics and experiences at my hospital and was meant to be a tribute to the valuable contribution made by family physicians through the years.
—Ed

In response to our president’s “Thoughts on professionalism” in the June issue (BCMJ 2016;58:247), I would like to add comments pertaining to his third tenet of our profession’s longstanding tradition—the value and merit of the social contract.

Thank you, Dr Mahy, for sharing your thoughts on the milieu of medical professionalism. This is to be considered as each of us sets out every day to deliver the highest quality of care to all patients across British Columbia. While I agree that physicians would gladly embrace greater independence within our health care system, it is not necessarily the cornerstone with which to effectively advocate on behalf of our patients. Every day, individually and collectively, we as a profession effectively advocate on behalf of our patients, both for their needs and those of our health care system.

A recent article in the Globe and Mail, included in a Doctors of BC newsflash, led me to write about electronic health records (www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/doctors-using-electronic-records-at-higher-risk-for-burnout-study/article30652673/).