Letter to Editor | Vote Yes to Re-shape Our Ideal Health Care

— from Vincent Shu, MD —

Through many years, I have been privileged to converse and speak to people from whom I have learned the art of listening. This has helped me to be aware of “life’s whispers.”

I have read numerous comments published on the Public Hospital District (PHD) proposal in  Madrona Voices and Orcas Issues. My hope is that Islanders vote FOR the proposed PHD to foster a community where people’s concerns and needs will be more tightly woven into the fabric of the Orcas healthcare system.

Many academic institutions have a philosophy and practice of caring for the whole person, and for working as a team to provide and implement continuing health education, and for empowering patients with the knowledge and confidence to help them get back on the path of well being. Examples of this are:

1. John Longhurst, MD, Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at University of Irvine College of Medicine,
2. UCLA Collaborative Centers for Integrative Medicine (CCIM),
3. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Bendheim Integrative Medicine Center,
4. Andrew Weil, MD, Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona,
5. Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in San Diego, and
6. University of Colorado, The Center for Integrative Medicine (TCFIM).

Does UW Medicine belong to this growing list? I cannot speak for UW. I do know, however, that four practitioners in the UW Clinics have been practicing acupuncture in Seattle. Furthermore, the UW Medicine’s Mission Statement says that “STRENGTHENING ITS COMMITMENT TO THE ONGOING HEALTH OF THE PEOPLE OF THE REGION THROUGH AN EMPHASIS ON PREVENTATIVE SERVICES … IS DEDICATED TO IMPROVING THE GENERAL HEALTH AND WELL- BEING OF THE PUBLIC … [and] IS ALSO DEDICATED TO ETHICAL CONDUCTING ALL ITS ACTIVITIES.” Would this convince you that UW Medicine is not a profit-driven allopathic facility practicing corporate medicine?

I have been in the annual open house twice at the UW Friday Harbor Marine Lab. I was impressed by its academic educational outreach programs as being community friendly. UW Psychiatry helps Peace Health Peace Island Medical Center to build its Telemedicine-Psychiatry program, providing comprehensive care and improved patient access.I have attended molecular-genetic conferences five times at Allen Brain Institute in Seattle. I found that its programs are intimately integrated with UW Medicine. This is in line with the UW mission statement that it is “COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE IN BIOMEDICAL EDUCATION, RESEARCH, AND HEALTH CARE … EXPANDING ITS RANGE OF CLINICAL SERVICES OFFERED DIRECTLY OR IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHERS TO MINIMIZE COST, IMPROVE ACCESS, AND ENHANCE SERVICE EXCELLENCE.”

Without the PHD, the proposed UW-sponsored services would not be available on Orcas Island, forcing residents to endure a long ferry ride to the mainland with additional travel north or south for a scheduled appointment. Consider the increasing options for Telepsychiatry, Tele-Stroke, Tele-Genetics, Tele-Endocrine, Tele-Oncology, and Tele-Heart Attack. Can you imagine Islanders not having to leave the Island to see specialists? It is cost-effective.

It is also a cost-effective way to take part in Epic Systems, the powerful electronic medical records system, by piggybacking on the UW, which has already annual paid millions of dollars in licensing fees to Epic. This will be vital to providing 24/7 urgent and after-hour care. By affiliating with the UW to access its specialists, the informal consultations are referred to as virtual “curbside” consults, which are a desirable, well-accepted part of medical practice. Accessing electronic medical records with a few clicks, the treating physician can seek informal advice about patient care from a colleague who has a particular expertise that can be brought to bear. It is free because the colleague does not see the patient and is not paid for the consultation.

If the PHD fails to pass, these proposed services will not be available. This will jeopardize the quality of patient care (and may even lose few lives), and will further increase the burden of medical expenses on the Islanders who seek medical help.

Please join me in support of the proposed PHD.