Carson: Health care must be streamlined

CHICAGO — Benjamin S. Carson Sr., MD, a Republican candidate for the U.S. presidential nomination and retired neurosurgeon, encouraged spine surgeons to “make medicine fun again,” get back to the basics and provide the best medical care for their patients, in a recorded statement given at the North American Spine Society (NASS) Annual Meeting.

When health care got away from just being about health care providers and patients, it became muddled and difficult, Carson said, noting he wants to rid health care of the middle man.

“What do you need for good health care? A patient and a health care provider. Along came the middle man to facilitate the relationship, and now that has become the primary entity that has the patient and health care providers at its beck and call. The whole thing is upside down,” he said.

Carson urged his colleagues to unite and work toward improving the country.

“A wise man once said a house divided itself cannot stand. We Americans must be smarter than that. We are not each other’s enemies. Those who are trying to divide us, they are the enemies, and we need to use all of our influence to make sure we get that message across,” he said.

According to Carson, physicians are trained to face and solve problems with evidence based approaches rather than ideology, which is what the country needs to revisit its former greatness.

“There is so much we need to do. We must exercise logic. I encourage every one of you to get involved at some level,” he said. – by Robert Linnehan

Reference:

Carson B. 2016: Emerging Payment Policies and the NASS/Washington, DC Relationship. Presented at: North American Spine Society Annual Meeting; Oct. 14-17, 2015; Chicago.

Disclosure: Carson reports no relevant financial disclosures.