AMA President Details 2007 Actions By Commission To End Health Care Disparities

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 15 Jan 2008 - 10:00 PDT

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"When patients fail to receive high-quality care because of their race or ethnicity, the entire nation suffers. Fortunately, we in medicine are working hard to heal part of this disease of social injustice," American Medical Association President Ronald Davis writes in an opinion piece for American Medical News.

Davis co-chairs the Commission to End Health Care Disparities, a group of more than 50 state and specialty medical societies and other professional organizations. According to Davis, the commission, in the last year:

• Published a framework for initiating and influencing federal, state and local actions to address racial and ethnic health disparities;
  
  
• Created a workshop to educate physicians about disparities issues and how they can reduce disparities by improving communication;
  
  
• Produced papers on how pay-for-performance and emerging technologies can affect disparities;
  
  
• Recruited physician volunteers to reach out to students in underrepresented groups to encourage the students to consider health care careers; and
  
  
• Established a program in which companies can collaborate with the health industry on reducing disparities and signed up six members.
  

Davis writes, "[W]e're proud of last year's results in our efforts to end the curse of health care disparities related to race and ethnicity. But in 2008, we look forward to doing even more" (Davis, American Medical News, 1/21).

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