The American College of Physicians has issued a policy paper urging the medical community to reconsider the use of the term “provider” when referring to physicians, citing ethical, professional, and practical concerns related to language in health care.
In the paper, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians examined how terminology shapes professional identity, patient understanding, and the patient–physician relationship. The policy concluded that the word “provider” should not be used to describe physicians and recommended more precise language that reflects training, responsibilities, and ethical obligations.
The paper was developed by the American College of Physicians Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee, before being reviewed and approved by the organization’s Board of Regents. It reviewed historical, ethical, and linguistic scholarship to assess how the term “provider” emerged and how it is currently used across health care systems, policy documents, and clinical settings.
According to the researchers, the term “provider” gained prominence following the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s, where it was used broadly to describe “any provider of services.” Over time, the term expanded to encompass physicians, nurses, physician assistants, health systems, and insurers, often without distinction. The paper noted that this broad usage may obscure meaningful differences in training, expertise, and professional roles among clinicians.
The American College of Physicians emphasized that medical care differs fundamentally from commercial transactions. Physicians are bound by ethical duties that include beneficence, nonmaleficence, respect for patient autonomy, and justice. These obligations arise from the vulnerability of patients and the trust placed in physicians, rather than from contractual service delivery. The paper argued that referring to physicians as “providers” risks reframing the patient-physician partnership as a mere transactional exchange, rather than a professional relationship grounded in ethical responsibility.
The researchers also highlighted potential implications for patients. When clinicians are grouped under a single generic label, patients may have difficulty understanding who is responsible for diagnosis, decision-making, and longitudinal care. This lack of clarity could affect informed decision-making and undermine trust in the health care system.
Beyond patient-facing concerns, the paper examined how language influences professional identity and behavior. Prior research cited in the policy suggests that terminology can shape how clinicians perceive their roles and responsibilities. The American College of Physicians warned that persistent use of commercially oriented language may contribute to what many medical leaders have described as “deprofessionalization,” a process in which economic and administrative priorities increasingly overshadow professional values, creating in turn “an impairment of the ability to practice according to the precepts of ethics and professionalism.”
The policy paper acknowledged that modern health care is delivered by multidisciplinary teams and stressed the importance of inclusive language. However, it recommended using terms such as “clinicians” or “health care professionals” when referring collectively to team members, rather than “providers.” When possible, the paper encouraged specificity, such as identifying physicians, nurses, or physician assistants by their professional titles.
The paper was authored by Lois Snyder Sulmasy, JD, of the American College of Physicians, and Jan K. Carney, MD, of the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, on behalf of the Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee. The researchers asserted that the recommendations are intended to support patient-centered care and reinforce the ethical foundations of medicine, rather than resist changes in health care delivery or team-based practice.
The American College of Physicians concluded that language choices in health care carry ethical significance and should reflect the values of the profession. The organization recommended that physicians avoid referring to themselves and their colleagues as “providers” and instead use terminology that recognizes professional identity, accountability, and the patient–physician relationship.
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Source: Annals of Internal Medicine.