Physicians Start Viral Campaign for Healthcare Reform

A coalition of 450,000 doctors is touting its new campaign, "Heal Health Care Now," to strongly back health reform and to urge their patients to do likewise. In cooperation with Herndon Alliance and Brave New Films, Heal Health Care Now was launched on July 30.

This initiative uses YouTube and other Internet-related messaging consisting of several elements that include a provocative video of family physicians speaking in support of health system reform. The goal of the video is to tell the American public that family physicians support healthcare reform to assure healthcare coverage for more people, to assure a more robust primary care infrastructure and workforce, to improve payment for family physicians and primary care, and to improve the quality and efficiency of care. These physicians feel the status quo is not acceptable. The video culminates with a call to action encouraging viewers to let their legislators know they stand behind nearly a half million physicians in supporting reform.

This physician coalition, made up mostly of primary care physicians, wants citizens to let their member of Congress know that healthcare reform should be the nation’s top priority. The campaign launched just as federal lawmakers are returning home from Washington, D.C., for their August recess.

Also July 30, seven organizations representing 450,000 physicians and medical students delivered a joint letter indicating their support of healthcare reform to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his colleagues in the U.S. Senate. The letter reads in part, “We are confident that the reforms being proposed will allow us to provide better quality care to our patients, while preserving patient choice of plan and doctor.”

To view the video, visit the Heal Health Care Now Web site.