OPINIONThe partnership principle: Together we are strongerAMA Leader Commentary. By Cecil B. Wilson, MD, April 2, 2007. A message to all AMA members from the chair of the AMA Board of Trustees, Cecil B. Wilson, MD Partnerships provide the mechanism whereby a unity born of common purpose results in effective actions to reach desired goals. It is through partnerships that we leverage our strengths to achieve that which acting alone we might not find possible. Partnerships are an instrument for success. Commitment to the partnership principle has been a part of the genetic makeup of the AMA since its founding 160 years ago. At a time when medical education was considered by some to be "impractical if not utopian," Dr. Nathan Davis, the founder of the AMA, submitted a resolution to New York's state medical society calling for establishment of a national medical association to "elevate the standard of medical education in the United States." The result was the formation of the AMA; an affirmation of the importance of physicians partnering together. Elizabeth Barrett Browning began her immortal poem with "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." With apologies to Ms. Browning, how does the AMA partner? Let me count some of the ways. Last month, the AMA partnered with AARP in releasing a shared-responsibilities and health and safety resource guide, promoting stronger patient-physician relationships during National Patient Safety Awareness Week (an effort in which the AMA has partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for many years). Our ongoing efforts to eliminate the menace to public health posed by 47 million Americans without health care insurance are gaining momentum through the Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured. This group includes, among others, the AMA, other medical and public health associations, insurers, Families USA, pharmaceutical firms and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. All joined their collective voices in February in a clarion call to cover as many uninsured as quickly as possible -- especially our children. The Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement is an AMA-convened group of more than 100 national medical specialty and state medical societies, the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, the American Board of Medical Specialties and its member boards; experts in methodology and data collection; the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The purpose is to take the lead in development, testing and maintenance of evidence-based clinical performance measures and measurement resources for physicians. The American Medical Association/State Medical Societies Litigation Center includes medical societies from every state and the District of Columbia as members. The goal is to enhance AMA policies through the American legal system, including courts, administrative agencies and alternative dispute bodies. Since its inception in 1995, the center has participated in nearly 150 cases. Participation includes financial support, joining as a party to the suit and/or filing a friend-of-the-court brief. The AMA was co-founder in 2004, along with the National Medical Assn., of the Commission to End Health Care Disparities. The commission includes more than 35 state and specialty medical societies and other health professional organizations. The goal is to bring greater awareness and ultimately elimination of health care disparities. The Initiative to Transform Medical Education is a partnership within the House of Medicine with a goal of reforming the medical education and training system from premedical preparation and medical school admission through continuing physician professional development. More than 1 million patients nationwide have partnered with the AMA in our Patient Action Network; committing to make contact with Congress on issues of concern to patients and physicians. Perhaps the most impressive evidence of the strength of the partnership principle at work is seen in the AMA House of Delegates. This incredibly democratic deliberative body is the forum where delegates, representing every state and territory as well as 109 national medical specialty societies, meet twice yearly to develop policy and take actions in support of the interests of the profession we represent and the patients we serve. Long, long ago (1847), Dr. Nathan Davis knew, and we continue to be reminded, that "Together [as partners] we are stronger." Dr. Wilson an internist in private practice in Winter Park, Fla., was chair of the AMA Board of Trustees during 2006-07. Learn more about Dr. Wilson at the AMA's bio page. Copyright 2007 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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