AMA'S New Top Doc Focusing on Patients
(ARA) - Although he represents the largest physician group in the country, the American Medical Association's new president, John C. Nelson, M.D., M.P.H, promises that the focus of his year term will be on advocating for patients.
"Our profession has been mired down in Medicare and managed care red tape, but we must remember why most of us became physicians in the first place -- to help our patients. It is as simple as that," says Nelson, who became the AMA's 159th president in June.
Nelson, 59, a Salt Lake City obstetrician-gynecologist, says he will stop delivering babies for the time being and commit himself to working with physicians, patients, policy makers and other groups from across the country on strengthening the patient-physician relationship and improving the quality of clinical care.
"The patient-physician relationship is the cornerstone of the practice of medicine. It is a privilege for me, as a physician, to get to know the people who walk through the doors of my office," Nelson says. "Caring for patients and becoming part of their lives strengthens our relationship and builds trust."
Physicians are facing an uphill climb to protect their patients' access to care because of a broken medical liability system. In the past two years, Nelson has seen his liability insurance premiums nearly double. Unfortunately, these increases have forced many of his colleagues across the country to restrict services, retire early, or relocate their practices to states where the legal climate is more stable.
"Every day, I talk to physicians who practice in states where they can barely afford to keep their doors open. Many of my fellow ob-gyns have told me that they stopped delivering babies because covering their liability insurance costs proved impossible," Nelson says. "The medical liability crisis is presenting a major hurdle in providing the best possible care to our patients, but it's an obstacle that we can and will overcome."
In addition to leading the AMA's charge to fix the broken liability system, Nelson will spotlight many pressing health care issues during his term, such as securing access to health care coverage for all Americans and eliminating health disparities. Nelson will also continue his work as an advocate of anti-violence efforts, improved patient safety, early disease detection programs, and enhanced public health.
The key to meeting these challenges, Nelson acknowledges, is rallying America's physicians around these causes and working to rekindle the passion for medicine that has been dimmed for some physicians by the growing bureaucratic and regulatory challenges hindering medical practice today. Nelson says he plans to take an important lesson learned in his home state of Utah and share it with his colleagues nationally.
"Two years ago when my home town of Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics, I witnessed a transformation of my city and its citizens when they became aware of what they were capable of and how they felt when they achieved it," Nelson says.
"The motto of Salt Lake City's 2002 Winter Olympics was 'Light the Fire Within.' We can apply that Olympic theme of 'Lighting the Fire Within' to physicians. Because I believe that all physicians, whether you can see it or not, have within them the fire of compassion, the fire of altruism, the fire of service to our patients."
Nelson was elected to the AMA's Board of Trustees in 1994, but held various leadership positions throughout his career, including president of the Utah Medical Association and deputy director of Utah's Department of Health. As a former board member of the Salt Lake City Boys and Girls Club, Nelson served as a local spokesperson on such issues as family violence, alcohol and substance abuse, teen pregnancy prevention, health system reform and clinical quality improvement.
A devoted father and husband, Nelson and his wife, Linda, have raised a family of eight children and five grandchildren. Although balancing his family life and his practice has presented some challenging moments, Nelson is eager to tackle his term as president of the AMA.
"I am optimistic and excited for the year ahead," Nelson says. "I am confident that we can make some real progress on so many of the challenges facing our profession. At times, it may feel like the chaotic nature of the health care system is trying to knock us down, but we cannot let it knock us out. It is our duty to advocate for what is right and protect the integrity of our profession -- for our practices and for our patients."
Courtesy of ARA Content
