September 14, 2022
Doctors Making a Difference: Elizabeth Peterson, MD
As a board member of both AMPAC and WSMA's political action committee, WAMPAC, Elizabeth Peterson, MD, is no stranger to health care advocacy. Throughout her years as a physician advocate, the issues have shifted, but the end goal remains the same: making sure the physician voice shapes the future of our health care system. Dr. Peterson, a pediatric plastic surgeon at Mary Bridge Children's Health Center in Tacoma, talked with WSMA Reports about her history with advocacy work and why physicians should get involved.
WSMA Reports: What does health care advocacy mean to you?
Dr. Peterson: Advocacy simply means to ask for something on behalf of or in support of another person or thing. Health care advocacy, to me, is the intersection of medical education and evidence-based information with organized groups of physicians who have recognized patient or physician issues. Much of the time, these challenges require the creation of solutions through public policy. The advocacy, the driving force, is the art of how to get there.
How did you first get involved with health care advocacy?
I was in my first two years of practice when the local county medical society president asked if I would become involved on their board of trustees. I found that through this involvement I developed insights into the broader view of how medicine in our community was practiced and how we could serve our patients the best. It became clear that collectively we could educate ourselves about the many challenges that we faced and that changed how we practiced.
Back in those days, we had to learn about and share with our physician communities information on restricted physician health plan panels, how to implement new HIPAA rules, information about EMTALA, how to work collectively yet avoid monopoly rule violations, and how to navigate many other regulatory actions that have come and gone involving insurance and payments.
But organized medicine is not limited to regulatory or financial issues at all. It helps develop and communicate a consensus around disease management, public health practices, and now, more deeply, how social determinants of health are pervasive.
Are there issues you've become especially passionate about during your years of advocacy?
Universal access to health care for patients. Fair and enhanced reimbursements for physicians. No, I do not think these are mutually exclusive.
What advocacy successes are you most proud of?
Years ago, I was but a small voice in the larger plastic and reconstructive surgery community advocating that breast cancer reconstruction be covered by health insurance. We were very gratified when Congress passed the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act and President Bill Clinton signed it into law in 1998.
One small secret of advocacy work is that a great deal of what we accomplish is not limited to laws we support that are passed, but that we also keep uninformed, unworkable, and patientor physician-harming legislation from being passed (or even getting out of committee) on a regular basis.
What's the best way for WSMA members to get involved with advocacy?
Show up at organized medicine events like the WSMA House of Delegates. Join political action committees of medical organizations (including WAMPAC and AMPAC). Participate in county and specialty society committees and leadership positions. A single act of participation leads to opportunities to become involved and eventually become an advocate.
This article was featured in the September/October 2022 issue of WSMA Reports, WSMA's print magazine.