Willie Underwood III, MD, president of the American Medical Association, is urging physicians to stop trying to repair a “broken system” and reimagine one “built around better patient outcomes and the needs of those who deliver care,” he said at a Nov. 6 Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.
He pointed to burdensome prior authorization requirements, declining Medicare payment, rising practice costs and threats to patients’ health coverage as growing pressures on physicians. He also highlighted AMA wins, including prior authorization reforms in two dozen states and more than 100 victories protecting physician-led, team-based care, according to a Nov. 6 news release shared with Becker’s.
“Now imagine what we could accomplish if we brought that same spirit of imagination to medicine,” Dr. Underwood said. “A future where physicians are empowered to practice medicine. Where patients receive the care they need, when they need it. The future of medicine will not be defined by what we’re willing to accept … but by what we dare to imagine. By what we have the courage to challenge. And by what we choose to build — together.”
