Jan 22, 2021
Overview
In this episode originally released
in 2019, Drs. RJ Sontag and Andrew Meltzer interview fellow
emergency physician Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-CA, to explore how medical
students, residents, and recent grads can become advocates for
their patients and their profession outside the emergency
department. As EMRA's 2019 Congressional Health Policy Fellow, Dr.
Sontag worked with Dr. Ruiz on Capitol Hill to turn medical and
policy research into legislative solutions on a wide range of
topics, from firearm violence prevention to surprise billing to
youth nicotine use.
Hosts
RJ Sontag,
MD
President, EMRA
Residency: UT Health San Antonio
Medical school: Wright State University
EM
Resident Articles
Twitter: @RJSontagMD
Andrew Meltzer, MD, MS
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, George Washington
University
Director, Urgent Matters
Fellowship: Clinical Research, University of Maryland Shock Trauma
Center
Residency: University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center
Medical School: SUNY Downstate School of Medicine
Twitter: @ACMeltzer
Guest
Raul Ruiz, MD, MPH, MPP
United States Congressman (CA-36)
Fellowship: International Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women’s
Hospital
Residency: University of Pittsburgh
Medical School: Harvard University
Twitter: @CongressmanRuiz
Key Points
- Being an emergency physician provides a unique perspective on governing
- Our understanding of the needs of underserved and underinsured populations can influence policy decisions
- Patient health involves more than just the care we provide in the emergency department
- Social determinants of health, drug pricing, insurance status, and many other factors affect our patients’ health
- To truly improve our patients' health, students, residents, and young physicians must learn the language of advocacy by getting involved at every level of policy creation: from hospital administration to local, state, and federal government
- Emergency physicians are better equipped than other specialties to advocate for our patients and our profession because of our experience standing up for our patients to guarantee they get the care they need every single shift
- Government can play a role in incentivizing technology and alternative payment models to improve health care access and affordability
References