Sheila Page, D.O., a family physician in Aledo, Texas, and president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), is featured in the winter issue of the of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. She writes:  "Today physicians often feel constrained to pick from among options that are not in the best interest of patients but are 'covered' by insurance or approved by officials."

"An apparently free choice when there is no real alternative is a Hobson's Choice, and physicians must understand the political structure in which this type of 'choice' is embedded," Dr. Page explains.

"During the COVID pandemic, people often faced a Hobson's Choice of taking a shot that they believed put their life, health, or fertility at risk, or be barred from their education or career," she noted.

"Voters generally believe that they have two choices, Republican or Democrat, and that they represent extremes of political ideology. However, when they are in office, politicians behave as if they belong to the same club," she writes.

"Physicians have accepted the Hobson's Choice of either abiding by ridiculous regulatory burdens or refusing to treat the senior population," she explains. They "accept the Hobson's Choice of either standing against the oppression or keeping their 'place at the table.'" 

"The phrase 'we need to keep our place at the table to avoid being on the menu' entirely misses the point," she states. "The profession is on the table already being carved up. How many times have we been told we must choose the lesser of two evils? Either choice is still evil!"

"We must identify the enemy within," Dr. Page writes. "The medical profession must grasp the extent to which it has been manipulated by pharmaceutical, insurance, and other systems tied to medicine. We have been burdened with regulations and threats to our licenses by the same people who are selling us the solutions."

"There is tremendous profit in the existing system, but we must nevertheless offer healing and hope, learn how to fight back effectively, and reject the Hobson's Choice," she concludes.

The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943.