About Us

The South Dakota Coalition for Excellence in Patient Care has a mission to ensure that health care in South Dakota continues to be delivered with a team-based approach focused on patients.

During the last several state legislative sessions, special interest groups have attempted to change South Dakota’s laws to remove physician involvement in patient care.

The South Dakota Coalition for Excellence in Patient Care uses research, advocacy and education to defend the practice of medicine against proposed changes in state law that seek to remove team-based care and threaten patient safety.

All health care professionals play an essential role in providing care for patients and are important members of the care team. However, the skillsets of non-physicians are not interchangeable with that of fully trained physicians. The high-stakes field of medicine demands the leadership that comes with the education, experience and acumen of fully trained physicians. Physicians work closely with all members of the health care team to care for patients – a team-based model is vital for high-quality patient care.

• Compare education and training of physicians and non-physicians (PDF)
• Myth vs. fact: do patients benefit? (PDF)