The tragic and brazen murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, Brian Thompson, on a New York City street sent shock waves throughout the musculoskeletal community. To us, members of that community, the most tragic aspect of this attack was that we’ve seen it before—as similarly violent acts against orthopedic and spine caregivers.
On July 11, 2023, Benjamin Mauck, M.D., 43, a well-loved hand surgeon at Campbell Clinic in Collierville, Memphis, Tennessee, was shot and killed by a patient in his exam room.
Preston Phillips, M.D., one of the musculoskeletal community’s best, brightest, and most generous surgeons, was shot and killed in his own clinic on June 1, 2022, by a patient he’d recently treated.
Stephanie Husen, M.D., Amanda Glenn, and William Love were also shot in that same attack that killed Dr. Phillips and also Dr. Husen.
On September 16, 2010, a 50-year-old family member of a patient grew “overwhelmed” when a Johns Hopkin’s spine surgeon told him about his mother’s care and pulled a small semi-automatic handgun from his waistband and shot Dr. David Cohen in the chest. Dr. Cohen survived the attack.
Blunt Truths
Surgeons, their staffs and other caregivers are on the front lines—often caught between the private and public reimbursement system—and their patients—who are desperate for relief, can struggle to understand their pain, pathology, and a complicated care program.
It would not surprise me at all if a common reaction to the awful news about Brian Thompson was: “That could have been me or someone I know.” Put aside the daily fights over prior authorizations and insurance mismanagement. The sadness for Brian Thompson’s family and colleagues runs deep and is visceral.
Think simply about healing and pain and, of course, one of the integral parts of the healing professions, bad news—a suspicious image on an MRI, a poor prognosis, or an insurance turn down. Then imagine handing that information to an anxious patient. Put that on your shoulders. Carry it home. Marinate on it overnight and then go back for another day of clinic.
There’s no villain here. The gestalt of that patient’s pain and anxiety seeps upward through the healthcare chain and last week, it reached its apex ending the life of a good man, an accomplished man, a family man—not unlike the caregivers who’ve also faced an armed and desperate patient.
The system needs healing. The caregiver isn’t the problem, the caregiver is the solution. We’re in this together.
Please post your reactions, meditations even, to these acts of violence against the healing community and the reimbursement system that funds it.
