Medical School Dean Philip A. Pizzo called on his medical staff colleagues to help regain the public trust needed to “sustain excellence in academic medicine, and in medicine at large.”

Speaking at SHC’s Semiannual Medical Staff Meeting on May 24, Pizzo highlighted how five areas of excellence in our nation’s health system are being seriously threatened.

For more coverage of the May 24 Medical Staff Meeting, [see President Kent Garman’s column].

Specifically, the dean discussed a rise in fundamental religion as a challenge to science, funding cuts to the NIH, a general deterioration in the health care delivery system, challenges of academic-industry relations, and waning public respect for physicians.

Pizzo, the Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Professor for the Dean of the School of Medicine and professor of pediatrics and of microbiology and immunology, told his clinical colleagues that to address these five problem areas, what “will really make the difference in terms of sustainability is how we can reengage the public trust to value who we are and what we are trying to do.”

The dean said doctors needed to be public educators in the face of a “migration away from a tolerance for secularity…. We need to be advocates in many ways for the process that will arouse the public to understand what science is about and hopefully differentiate between what science does and what religion does - although both are valuable in their own ways.”

He noted that the NIH, “the funding agency that has made all the difference for the United States in becoming the paragon of excellence in biomedical research,” faces serious funding threats following years of useful growth. “Do what you can through your professional societies, your colleagues, your friends to speak up for these issues.”

Pizzo urged his colleagues to take the high road when critiquing the financially vulnerable NIH. He said journal articles and other personalized or parochial attacks on the NIH and its leadership have the potential to confuse lawmakers - political leaders may see little merit in standing up for the NIH if scientists give the impression they don’t believe in the organization’s value.

Clinically, physicians will need to convince the public, political leaders and even patients that the benefits of academic medical centers justify their higher costs.

To differentiate Stanford from the large nonacademic medical centers that dominate the region’s healthcare scene, Stanford must capitalize on innovation and discovery and hope that will add perceived value to patients and organizations purchasing health care.

“We need to advocate and work with groups to really push for fundamental health care reform,” an issue which Pizzo predicted could be a major factor in the 2008 general elections.

The dean noted that while relationships between the medical center and industry are potentially beneficial to science and clinical health, the public is becoming cynical about what many people perceive as cozy relationships benefiting corporations and physicians but not patients. He noted that the components of SUMC are currently developing a conflict of interest policy [See Quality Corner], and that such guidelines by major medical centers should reassure the public that the institution is operating in the public’s best interest. Many of Stanford’s benchmark institutions across the country have or are developing such policies, Pizzo said.

“Stay on the high ground,” the dean cautioned, “and also engage effectively and proactively with industry to achieve the right level of success.”

Taking an even closer look at clinical medicine, Pizzo said he believes the physical exam is not passé, and even though “I agree you can learn a lot from a CT scan… I don’t ever think it will ever be a substitute for reaching out and making a human connection.” That in turn will provide many benefits, including helping patients become more supportive to help their doctors secure what they need to do their jobs more effectively.

“I would like to partner with each or all of you to find ways to get these messages to the appropriate groups or individuals.”

In closing remarks, Pizzo noted he has served in his current job for five years - “This is a wonderful institution and I really feel proud to be a part of this community.”