Is The “Doctor" Who Was Administering Medication To You An M.D. Or A Nurse With a Ph.D.?
More and more businesses and health services are supplying medication offering injections or diagnosing and treating patients with doctors who really are not medical doctors but rather nurses with Ph.D.’s. Often these Ph.D. “doctors" are paid less than medical doctors. While there is no doubt that there are advanced practice nurses with Ph.D.’s that have excellent and fine medical skills, this is not always explained to individuals who seek medical advice or treatment and assume that the same is being provided by a medical doctor. Many clinics have nurse Ph.D.’s who are identified as doctors performing medical exams, and as an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney for over thirty years, I predict that this is something that will become more and more common in a tightened economy and as big business has a greater role in providing healthcare.
Interestingly enough, researchers show that the new Ph.D. degrees maintained by nurses who call themselves doctors have not brought higher fees to these mostly lesser paid providers from insurers from seeing patients. Certainly and understandably one can understand the frustration from physicians with medical degrees who have spent years of intensive study only to have confusion over the use of the term doctor and services performed by someone using the term doctor.
As an experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney who has been intimately involved in claims of malpractice against the healthcare industry for over three decades, I believe that clear communications must be made to the consumer about the correct educational background and medical degree of the “doctor" administering the services and that legislators ought to be more involved in defining the roles of these healthcare providers.
If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of medical malpractice, contact one of our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation. For more information, contact us toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.
