We Pathologize, We should Apologize
My response to a Wall Street Journal article, "We Are Turning Too Many People Into Medical Patients"
The Hijacking of Medicine: A Call to Reclaim Our Profession
We live in a tonic-based society where quick fixes and easy labels have replaced thoughtful care. For every discomfort or deviation from the statistical mean, there's a diagnosis, a pill, an intervention—all amplified by the echo chambers of social media. In healthcare, however, more is not better. Better is better.
The diagnosis explosion is particularly concerning among young people. They arrive with carefully curated lists of conditions—autism, ADHD, PoTS, hEDS—some legitimate, others questionable. While many genuinely suffer, others are simply experiencing the natural turbulence of growing up. But our system rewards labeling over listening. Patients seek validation through diagnosis, and we physicians, pressed for time and resources, find it easier to prescribe or refer than to engage in meaningful conversations about life's inherent challenges.
These labels aren't benign—they become core identities. Every normal bodily sensation becomes "evidence" of the condition, reinforcing a cycle of hypervigilance and medicalization. We've transformed the human experience into a collection of pathologies, and the medical-industrial complex profits handsomely from this transformation. More tests, more specialists, more medications—an endless cascade of interventions with diminishing returns.
Time for Reflection and Responsibility
It's time we look in the mirror. We must reclaim our profession from those who have replaced patient primacy with shareholder primacy. Research consistently shows that physician-led healthcare organizations achieve better patient outcomes. A 2019 study in JAMA Network Open found that hospitals with physician CEOs outperformed those led by non-physicians in quality metrics, patient satisfaction, and financial efficiency. Similar findings appear in studies from the Annals of Internal Medicine and Health Affairs.
We owe our patients an apology. We've allowed our sacred profession to be hijacked by corporate interests that view healthcare as a commodity rather than a calling. The transformation of medicine into a business has eroded the doctor-patient relationship—the foundation upon which healing is built.
A Call to Action
To my fellow physicians:
Reclaim your voice in healthcare leadership. Pursue administrative roles, join hospital boards, and advocate for governance structures that prioritize patient care over profit margins.
Practice thoughtful, conservative medicine. Challenge the impulse to over-diagnose and over-treat. Remember that our first duty is to do no harm.
Create space for meaningful patient interactions. Fight for appointment times that allow for proper assessment and conversation.
Mentor the next generation to value clinical judgment over technological dependency and to see patients as whole humans, not collections of symptoms.
Organize and advocate for systemic change. Unite through professional organizations to demand healthcare structures that support the physician-patient relationship.
I applaud my friends at NobleForum for starting this iniative.
The art of medicine lies not just in what we do, but often in what we consciously choose not to do. Our profession has always balanced science with humanity, intervention with restraint. It's time to restore that equilibrium.
Medicine must be empathic again—seeing the person before the patient, the story before the symptom. This isn't just idealism; it's the path to better outcomes and more sustainable healthcare.
The medical profession belongs to those who practice it with heart and wisdom. Let's take it back.