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Alumni Corner
Then and Now: Former CIR President Reflects on Physician Activism from the 1960s to Today
Dr. Eugene Thiessen
Dr. Eugene Thiessen has spent his career expanding the definition of physician service. After earning his MD at the University of Chicago, he trained as a surgical resident at Bellevue Medical Center in New York, served as president of CIR from 1960-1962 and continued as a welfare administrator while starting
his general practice. Dr. Thiessen was an Associate Professor of Surgery at NYU for 20 years, and later practiced in emergency medicine. He also founded SHARE, the first peer support group for women with breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
CIR Vitals spoke with Dr. Thiessen about how he became a physician activist and how he sees physicians’ roles today.
WHAT WERE CIR’S GOALS WHEN YOU WERE PRESIDENT?
We certainly were addressing the inequities of salaries and working conditions of interns and residents. We negotiated to get a better contract. But at the same time we were advocating for nurse services, better lab services, we went beyond. . . . We were interested in the health care of the patients in the hospital.
Ever since its founding in the late 1950s, and during my tenure as President in the early 1960s, “patient welfare” has been one of the core principles underlying the efforts and activities of CIR. For me—and I believe for CIR also—“patient welfare” encompasses more than just the quality of care given to the hospitalized patient. Among other principles, I believe it also stands for both universal access to affordable health care, and health care as a universal human right.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TODAY’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM?
Health care is a right, not a privilege. It should be taken out of the hands of
profit-making entities. The application of health care is as much the responsibility
of physicians as the individual practice of medicine. I would like to see physicians active in the political process—not necessarily running for office but lending their professional expertise to politicians. I help my district representative in Long Island whenever I can by sending him information on health care. Physicians should be advocates not just of their own patients but of the system of health care.
WHAT DO YOU TELL A DOCTOR WHO WANTS TO GET MORE INVOLVED IN HIS COMMUNITY BUT ISN’T SURE WHERE TO START?
It’s hard to imagine that anybody who seriously considers getting involved in advocating for patient care would have difficulty finding something. Open your eyes, look around where you are, listen to the news broadcasts and what’s being said—pick out what interests you and you feel confident in.
About a month ago I heard on NPR that a group in California organized their
practice with an emphasis on prevention. They had a clinic and they would go out to their diabetic patients to make sure they didn’t have any lesions or infections on their feet—they’re really making preventive medicine an essential part of the practice. They were able to cut down on expensive hospitalizations resulting from lack of care and come in under budget.
My big complaint is that politicians don’t want to cut the cost of health care delivery; they want to reduce the amount that the government pays out. So the costs will stay the same if the system continues as it is now and there will be a shift on the payment from the government to the individuals. What we really need to do is figure out how to reduce the cost of health care delivery.
HOW DO YOU SEE THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT?
It is my belief that the OWS movement’s most important contribution is not the
development of a policy or political agenda; it is the raising of awareness and
discussion about fundamental political, economic and social relationships and inequities in our society. The “movement” isn’t providing answers—it’s asking questions; it’s asking the “whys”.
After retiring from clinical medicine in 1999, Dr. Eugene Thiessen continued as a lecturer in the Department of Preventive Medicine at SUNY-Stony Brook. In 2008, Dr. Thiessen received the “Distinguished Service Award” from the University of Chicago in “recognition of honor brought to the University through teaching, research, and community service.”
RECONNECT WITH CIR
We’re building an alumni network of all CIR past members going back to our founding in 1957! Connect with CIR and former colleagues by visiting our alumni center.
We’re building an alumni network of all CIR past members going back to our founding in 1957! Connect with CIR and former colleagues by visiting our alumni center.
In Implementing Electronic Records, Don’t Forget the People
The most valuable thing about EHR is the data and the control it gives you. I can see all of my patients, filter for diabetics, filter for those who are uncontrolled and focus on getting them in for screenings. We have easy access to data that was unimaginable with paper but none of it matters if I can’t even get my password to work.
Dr. Nailah Thompson
Having completed residency training in a largely paper-based hospital, former CIR Executive Vice President Dr. Nailah Thompson reflected on transitioning to her new position in Internal and Preventative Medicine in the fully electronic Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, CA.
When we speak of EHR, we extol its virtues in creating a safer, more efficient patient care setting. Yet one of the greatest barriers to creating this more efficient system is the providers themselves. In addition to cost and technological hurdles, hospitals face the challenge of training physicians and healthcare workers to adopt and be proficient in an entirely different work flow. We asked Dr. Thompson to share her experiences working in a fully electronic health records system. Kaiser Permanente is an industry leader in health IT, recognized by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society for its implementation of EMR.
Vitals: Why did you choose to work at Kaiser?
NT: I wanted to work at Kaiser because the position I have now blends primary care and preventative medicine. Its focus on public health provided opportunities to do a lot of community work.
Vitals: Kaiser Permanente has a fully electronic medical records system. What does that look like on the ground?
NT: Kaiser’s EMR is very intergrated. I can have a patient come from any other Kaiser hospital in California and have their information. Everything from the patient’s chart to notes from specialists are all immediately available. The entire hospital — radiology to pharmacy to physical therapy — uses the same system.
Vitals: How does EHR improve your day-to-day work?
NT: During residency [in Internal Medicine at Alameda County Medical Center in Oakland, CA] and at a small community hospital I worked at in Northern California, we were still using paper charts. What really sets my work apart now is the access I have to data. I can look at all my patients, filter for diabetics and for how many of them are controlled. If only 20 percent are, I can focus on getting those patients in for check ups and screenings. That’s not possible with paper charts. Not only can you not get these kinds of measures, you often don’t even know how many patients you have. It also makes the doctor’s work much more streamlined. You can include prompts for all sorts of measures: blood pressure screenings, mammograms, colon screenings. And the physician doesn’t have to commit these to memory. In fact, other staff can be sure to prompt patients for preventive measures as well. You can have reminder messages automatically sent to patients and you can communicate with them through the health net [the hospital’s online patient communication system].
Vitals: How did you adjust to working with EMR?
NT: There was definitely a learning curve but what’s really helped me adapt quickly is learning from my colleagues. You can’t be afraid to ask questions. The hospital has implemented programs like a physician mentorship program and a year-long physician orientation program that create a supportive environment for continued learning.
Vitals: What factors do you think are most important in creating an efficient EHR system?
NT: Training. We received one full week of training on the system. It’s so important because learning on the job just doesn’t work. We ran through everything—logging in, checking patient charts, checking email—with the hospital’s IT staff. We were able to troubleshoot many of the inevitable problems, so you are not unable to access a patient’s medical history because you are sitting in front of your computer trying to get your password to work.