Interventional cardiologist goes to Washington: Insights from a physician advocate

I recently returned to the hospital after a productive Fly-In with SCAI and the Alliance of Specialty Medicine. This is my third time participating in this annual 2-day program, and I’m again glad I took a few days out of the cath lab to interact directly with members of Congress and other political insiders.

Coming out of this meeting, which included a conference and visits to Capitol Hill, one theme resonated — engagement! Specifically, physician engagement in health care policymaking.

“There is not one problem in this country that can’t be fixed with leadership. Physicians have to engage and be advocates for your profession,” said Sen. Tom Coburn, MD, R-Okla., who was one of several speakers who stressed the need for physicians to become involved in the political process.

O. Steven Gigliotti

This sentiment was echoed by Rep. Raul Ruiz, MD, D-Calif., who said: “If we [physicians] are not at the table, we don't have a voice.”

And it wasn’t only elected officials who stressed this message. CMS’s Patrick Conway, MD, said, “CMS needs your help developing measures for subspecialties.”

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., who unlike those I quote above is not a physician, had a similar message: “The first step to fixing our healthcare crisis is to listen to the experts.”

My visits with elected officials and their staff on Capitol Hill reinforced this sensibility. They want to listen and they know we are the experts, but if we just sit on the sidelines, the only opinions they will hear will belong to those who don't fully understand health care-related issues or are ‘against’ the practice of medicine.

While in Washington, we also heard about the stifling regulatory environment and how it is limiting the ability of the United States to continue as a world leader in healthcare innovation.

“Innovative ecosystems can thrive if supported by policymakers,” said JC Scott, senior executive vice president for Government Affairs at AdvaMed (Advanced Medical Technology Association).

“Penalizing the entire profession of medicine by incentive-based auditing is the wrong way to go after fraud and waste,” said Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M.

I’m very grateful I’ve had the opportunity to go to Washington as an advocate for my profession, but I’m not finished now that I’ve returned to Texas, which is why I’m writing this blog: A group of about 130 physicians traveling to Washington once a year is not enough. We all have to get engaged in some way. Although we all don’t need to trek to Capitol Hill, we must get involved, and some of the most effective ways to get engaged don’t require flying to DC or taking days away from our practices. They include:

Talking to or emailing legislators in your home district. I guarantee they look at your emails.
Watching for advocacy updates from your societies, send comments when you receive their calls to action and contribute to their political action committees.

Although the political process may not be as exciting as being in the cath lab, it is no less important to ensure that we are able to care for our patients. And, really, that's what it is all about.

So, have you ever contacted policymakers — federal, state or local — about health care issues? What lessons can you share with other physicians interested in advocacy?

O. Steven Gigliotti, MD, FSCAI, is an interventional cardiologist and the director of research at the Seton Heart Institute, Austin, Texas. He is co-chair of SCAI’s Advocacy & Government Relations Committee and was an inaugural member of the Texas Medical Association’s Leadership College.
Disclosure: Gigliotti reports no relevant financial disclosures.