Put The Patient FIrst*
Channel: Ross Martin
Date: 2019-12-06

This is a protest song about healthcare written by Dr. Ross D. Martin on 9/17/2019 for the University of Southern Indiana informatics conference.

(c) 2019 Ross D. Martin, MD, MHA, FAMIA, FACMImimi
The American College of Medical Informatimusicology
www.ACMImimi.org
Also check out my solo musical: www.MissRainsong.com.

Put the Patient FIrst*

Well, did you hear? Big Pharma’s
Gonna grab some good karma
By giving out antidotes
For opioid overdose
And big box pharmacies
Inject your flu shot for free
While payers all consolidate
To make their networks multi-state

Hospitals are calculating
Payments for their Star ratings
Clinics go concierge
To show how much they really care 
EHR ubiquity
Promises liquidity 
Of all your healthcare information
Anywhere across the nation

Meanwhile every healthcare IPO
Invents a niche you didn’t know
Existed ’til you read their blog
On post-op service dogs (yeah, it’s a thing)
The CEO’s epiphany
On value-added synergy 
Makes your heart swell
When you hear her tell
How “We always…

Put the patient first
It’s the core to our vision
The patient’s number one
It’s our mantra — it’s our mission
There’s just one little thing —
Remember, nothing comes for free
So we put the patient first in line 
Right behind me”

(Right behind me
Put the patient first — asterisk
Right behind me)

Feds try to regulate
A patient-centric mandate
To make your health data flow
Only where you say it goes
But big wigs of industry
Say, “Leave the data flow to me
It’s dangerous to give the reins
To patients in their state of pain
We have all the expertise 
Plus think about our kids 
If you over-regulate us
And our profits hit the skids
But hey, you know we’ll always...

Put the patient first
It’s the core to our vision
The patient is our focus
It’s our mantra — it’s our mission
There’s just one little catch
Check the fine print and you’ll see
That we put the patient first
Right behind the company”

And so the story goes
In spite of everything we pay
The system only grows
While the patients waste away
Seems every new solution
Grabs another slice of profit
And grows the problem pile
’Stead of taking something off it 
So let’s all…

Put the patient first 
With no caveat or loophole 
We make the system work
First and foremost for the people
Imagine what we’ll have
Just how awesome it will be
When we put the patient first
And make it work for you and me

But if we never make a change
Tell me whatcha gonna do
When that patient last in line 
Turns out to be you?

So let’s all…
Put the patient first!
Together we can do it
Put the patient first! 
There’s really nothing to it
Put the patient first!
And the rest is gonna flow
Simply put the patient first!
That’s all you need to know

*No exceptions!