Private Physicians Voice Concerns over the Danger of “Therapeutic Switching”
Physicians Harness Video and Social Media to Promote their Unique Brand of Medicine and Speak Out Against a Troubling Issue in Health Care

PHOENIX (Feb. 16, 2010) – The American Academy of Private Physicians (AAPP), the national association for private physicians who provide “concierge” and other forms of patient-financed, personalized health care will use social media tools to enable its members to voice their objections to a troubling health care issue known as “therapeutic switching.”

At AAPP’s Regional Summit on Concierge Medicine in Scottsdale, Ariz. on Feb. 20, the Association will provide a professional video production station to enable its members to speak their minds on this important issue and to capture professional quality video of physicians describing their own unique model of health care delivery.

“As a physician who has encountered therapeutic switching with patients, I’m troubled by the practice because it can have adverse effects on my patients’ health,” said Dr. Marcy Zwelling, president of AAPP. “The mere fact that there may be two drugs available to treat a particular condition does not mean these drugs are interchangeable.”

Private physicians, and many others, are troubled by the issue of therapeutic switching, an alarmingly common scenario in which a medication that has been prescribed for a patient by their physician are switched with a less-expensive substitute. Many physicians and patients object to therapeutic switching because the drug that the patient is switched to is not always an exact formulation of the original. Many times, the patient is not even notified of the switch, and the doctor has not authorized the change.

AAPP will capture the video footage at its regional summit in Scottsdale and provide the short videos back to its members for them to publish to YouTube, their own websites, and elsewhere as they see fit.

“This is a perfect opportunity for our members to create much-needed, professional video content on their unique practices and make an important statement about an objectionable health care issue at the same time,” said Tom Blue, executive director for AAPP.

In addition to the opportunity to take advantage of the video station, Summit attendees will receive a thorough briefing on how to create and grow their own private practices, the variety of proven business models for private medicine, and the technologies that enable the impressive patient experience in private medicine.

About the American Academy of Private Physicians:
The American Academy of Private Physicians, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 2003 for the purpose of furthering the needs of physicians interested in innovative medical practices. For more information visit the website at www.simpd.org or call 1-877-746-73-01