It’s Time to Reclaim Public Trust in Medicine
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Note: MSSNY member Robert Dracker, MD submitted this opinion piece. If you are a member and would like to contribute an article for consideration in our newsletter, please contact us at [email protected].
I became a doctor 43 years ago when I proudly graduated from the Upstate College of Medicine in Syracuse, New York. Having subsequently trained in Pediatrics, Hematology/Oncology, and Transfusion Medicine. I initially was Director of Transfusion Medicine at the University Hospital for 5 ½ years, after which I decided to return to private practice medicine to care for children in need. In my over 30 years in practice, I have committed myself to caring for the children in my community, both medically and in a scientific manner.
NEVER have I ignored my primary responsibilities in providing health care to those in need, while also performing clinical studies and having served on many organizations and committees, including the New York State Office of Professional Conduct. I have had the honor of serving on the FDA Pediatric Advisory Committee for 14 years, during which time I witnessed the honest and stalwart activity of a government organization committed to the health and welfare of the public. I will soon serve my third term as president of the Onondaga Medical Society and served three terms as president of the SUNY Medical College of Medicine Alumni Foundation.
What has motivated me has been ensuring the role of future and current physicians to care for their patients in a moral and committed manner. I am also the Chairman of the Medical Society of the State of New York’s Heart, Lung, and Cancer Committee, through which I have called for advocacy on behalf of patients to rebuild trust in their physicians and to advocate against the increasingly politically motivated medical misinformation campaign. It is time we re-take ownership of public trust and leadership on behalf of our patients. We can no longer sit idly by as patients are alternatively educated by drug company advertisements on TV and through social media, nor allowing them to be influenced by politicians with little or no medical education or knowledge.
Healthcare and medical information are the purview of physicians and must not be passively relinquished.
