OAFP Foundation Board of Trustees member Zachary Bittinger, MD, FAAFP, understands the power of mentorship in family medicine and its ability to provide clarity and reassurance to medical students, as well as inspiration to affect change.
He was first drawn to family medicine because of the impactful relationships. As a medical student, his family medicine preceptor had been in practice for decades, knew his patients inside and out, and had become a core part of his community. This is now something that Dr. Bittinger finds rewarding in his own family medicine career.
Dr. Bittinger is both an assistant professor of clinical family medicine and the director of medical student education at The Ohio State University (OSU) Wexner Medical Center within the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He also oversees the student organization Students for a National Health Plan (SNAHP), a branch of the Physicians for a National Health Plan (PNHP) organization, that performs research and educates people about the importance of creating a unifying federal insurance plan that is available to all Americans.
With his leadership, SNAHP OSU has rapidly grown and students have attended national conferences, advocated on Capitol Hill, began primary research, and have organized a fundraiser with the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, an organization that buys bundled medical debt that hospitals have already written off, and would otherwise be sold to predatory collectors for pennies on the dollar.
“The proceeds from the fundraising campaign will go towards purchasing patients’ medical debts and completely forgiving them outright, helping unburden central Ohioans,” Dr. Bittinger explained. “Because of how medical debt works in our country, medical centers nationwide can sell their debt to groups that use dangerous, unfair tactics to make patients pay up.”
Through his own residency experience, Dr. Bittinger learned about the dangers of medical costs and debt. He and his fellow residents cared for a large portion of patients with low socioeconomic status, few resources, and low health literacy. Despite their efforts, many patients weren’t improving or recovering under their care.
“Eventually I came to see that my patients were having trouble affording food or a place to live; their medications and other orders were not their top priority,” said Dr. Bittinger. “I now advocate for PNHP and SNAHP, along with medical students, because revolutionizing how we approach medical costs and debt is the only way to truly help our fellow Ohioans to achieve a better state of life and health.”
“I’m deeply proud of the SNAHP OSU group for creating this campaign as this is something that directly impacts our friends, neighbors, and loved ones,” said Dr. Bittinger. “It just goes to show: the earlier students are exposed to the injustices and costs of our current system, the more knowledge and power they hold, and the more they can achieve.”
Those interested in donating to the campaign can visit the Undue Medical Debt website. Just $1 donated will alleviate $100 of patient debt.
“My hope is that I can be remembered as a physician, teacher, and community member that inspired change,” explained Dr. Bittinger.
“I’ve come to realize that as one person, it can feel daunting for me to affect the change that I want to see in our city, state, and country. But I feel so invigorated by working with students, and especially with SNAHP, because of how much better and smarter they are than I was at that stage! They’re so aware of what the modern world is doing to them and their communities. That preparation and knowledge means we can build bigger ideas so much faster.”
“Ideally, when I retire one day, I want to look back and know that I helped start a path to better affordable health for everyone, and that I’m leaving that path in excellent hands.”
Financial support for this program was provided by the AAFP Foundation to the Family Medicine Chapter Alliance (FMCA) and is funded by members like you! Help programs like this continue to support family medicine by giving to the AAFP Foundation. Select “Chapter Grants” when making your gift online.