US Public Health Service (Retired), American College of Preventive Medicine, United States.
University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, American College of Preventive Medicine, United States.
Prev Med. 2018 Jun;111:463-465. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.03.012.
We explore three issues related to the practice of preventive medicine. First, how does the dearth of preventive medicine physicians on state licensure boards affect quality of medical care? Second, should a process be established to assess the training and skills of candidates for population health positions, like the "credentialing" or "privilege-granting" process used by hospitals and health systems for clinical positions? And third, how should the pervasive lack of recognition of preventive medicine as a bona fide medical specialty be addressed? In exploring these issues, we conclude that preventive medicine physicians are critical to the US health care ecosystem at every level, and to building a dominant culture of prevention. Preventive medicine physicians are actively engaged in the practice of medicine and should be party to the same licensure, credentialing, and privilege-granting procedures as all other specialties. Further, we raise a call to action to our profession to define and raise awareness of preventive medicine, participate in state licensure boards, and establish clear standards of practice for which we are uniquely trained and capable.
我们探讨了与预防医学实践相关的三个问题。首先，州许可委员会中缺乏预防医学医师会如何影响医疗质量？其次，是否应该建立一个程序来评估人口健康职位候选人的培训和技能，就像医院和医疗系统用于临床职位的“认证”或“授予特权”程序？第三，如何解决预防医学作为一种真正医学专业普遍缺乏认可的问题？在探讨这些问题的过程中，我们得出结论，预防医学医师在各级美国医疗保健生态系统中至关重要，是建立预防为主的文化的关键。预防医学医师积极参与医学实践，应像所有其他专业一样，参与同样的许可、认证和授予特权程序。此外，我们呼吁我们的专业人士采取行动，定义和提高对预防医学的认识，参与州许可委员会，并为我们独特的培训和能力制定明确的实践标准。
