The Naming of Things

By JOE FLOWER It’s happening across many parts of the federal government, in many sectors. Officials of the National Park Service have been reprimanded for tweeting about climate change. Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have been warned away from seven specific words in their budget documents, including “fetus,” “evidence-based,” and “transgender.” It is happening in healthcare as well. In previously secret proceedings, revealed here for the first time, representatives of organizations and companies across healthcare are in negotiations with a cross-agency team at Health and Human Services to restructure the language we use around medicine and healthcare. This is being done for the good of the industry, its regulators and payers, and ultimately of course of the American people. And the industry. In fact, this will impact the industry in multiple ways, not the least of which is clarifying and easing the labors of those of us in the pundit and panjandrum crowd. A HHS employee delivers a list of “potentially objectionable” and/or “problematic” words to a cabinet meeting in December as part of the administration’s comprehensive new “word strategy.” Honesty in labeling and punditry After all, those of us who are dedicated to fixing healthcare first have to talk about it properly. We have to be sensible, straightforward, and honest in our discussions. Take, for instance, “overtreatment,” which can now b...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs