A new ethics policy paper from the American College of Physicians (ACP) argues that physicians should not be called “providers,” emphasizing that the term undermines their ethical responsibilities, clinical integrity, and professional identity. The authors state that labeling physicians as providers reduces the patient–physician relationship to a commercial transaction and obscures important differences in training, roles, and obligations among health‑care professionals. ACP recommends reserving the word "physician" for doctors and using terms such as "clinician" or "health‑care professional" for others with different credentials.

The policy was published in Annals of Internal Medicine:
Snyder Sulmasy L, Carney JK, Acp Ethics P, Human Rights C. Physicians Are Not Providers: The Ethical Significance of Names in Health Care: A Policy Paper From the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med 2026. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-03852.