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Customer or patient?

The words used in a language must be carefully chosen for they are the basic units of our system of communication. It is the usage of a word in a unique context that, over a long period of time, determines its exact meaning.

I have seen the misuse of the word "customer" for "patient" in messages, newspapers, and magazines. This turn of events disturbs me.

For centuries, we have said that a minister has his or her congregation or flock rather than customers. A lawyer has his or her clients, rather than customers. A teacher has his or her students, rather than customers. A Little League baseball game is witnessed by fans and not customers.

Some may ask, "Why make a fuss about identifying patients as customers?" Here is why.

It should be clear to everyone that the delivery of patient care by the government and the private sector has failed to satisfy patients as well as doctors, nurses, and physician assistants, to name a few. A great paradox has been created -- what is known cannot be delivered. Major changes in this failing system will come. In the meantime, we can begin by cleaning up the language that offends and demeans those who are on the front line of doing the best they can.

So I do not believe that doctors, nurses, physician assistants, or dentists should be called health care providers, and I do not consider it proper to refer to patients as customers.

J. Willis Hurst
Consultant to the Division of Cardiology
Emory School of Medicine
Professor emeritus and former chair,
Department of Medicine (1957-1986)

More websites worth watching

There was no mention of the Sickle Cell Information Center website in the "Dot to Dot" article (Winter 2000-2001). This is the largest data bank about sickle cell disease and features two online guidebooks for clinicians as well as multiple tutorials. That website address is www.emory.edu/PEDS/SICKLE.

Allan Platt
Program Coordinator
Georgia Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at
Grady Health System

Editor's note: A number of people called to say that one site or another was not included in the listing. One very important omission was the Center for Transplantation's website, which was one of the earliest Emory sites to combine information on how to access patient care with usable information about conditions and procedures. That we could accidentally leave out these important sites points out why Emory is seeking to create one web gateway to health care information at the university. The site was launched in April at www.emoryhealthcare.com.

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