Reflecting on his first year at the helm of the AMA, CEO John Whyte, MD, MPH, underscored the importance of physician leadership in a rapidly transforming health care landscape.
“Leadership is not just standing up to bad policy,” Dr. Whyte told the AMA House of Delegates in tonight’s opening session of the 2026 AMA Annual Meeting. “It’s building what comes next. We fight for a system centered around the needs of patients, grounded in evidence and strengthened by innovation that delivers better care and better outcomes.”
As healthcare enters an era of rapidly accelerating change, where trust in science is too often dismissed and overshadowed by competing narratives, Dr. Whyte urged physicians to be active architects of the future.
“In moments like this, physician leadership matters more than ever,” Dr. Whyte said. “Because if we do not help shape the future of medicine, others will shape it for us. That is what is at stake. And it is why the work of this House, and the work of the AMA, carries such urgency right now.” (Read Dr. Whyte’s speech.)
Leading with credibility, authority
Today’s information landscape is increasingly difficult for patients to navigate, Dr. Whyte noted. Content lacks safeguards, with digital engagement often determining what audiences see first rather than rigorous factual vetting.
As a result, physicians play an important role as messengers of evidence-based information in one-on-one conversations with patients but also as advocates for improved health policy. Dr. Whyte emphasized that the AMA is critical to these efforts, amplifying physician voices and leveraging the profession’s credibility to bring meaningful change.
The AMA “must be the leading and most trusted partner for physicians as they navigate the future of medicine—stewards of patient care and the profession,” Dr. Whyte said in laying out a new strategic vision for the near 180-year-old organization.
“Patients need clarity, especially in a time of distrust,” he said. “They need to know where they can turn. That is why we are engaging directly with the public in new ways. On social media. In podcasts. In leading publications. And in conversations shaping public opinion.”
In pointing to the deliberate steps the AMA has taken to amplify the physician voice, Dr. Whyte highlighted:
- The launch of the “Health vs. Hype” podcast, which has grown to be one of the top healthcare-related podcasts since its launch in April.
- The growth of the “Your Care is at Our Core”—now active in 28 states—campaign, which reinforces that to patients that physicians put their needs first.
- The forthcoming launch of the “Have You Asked Your Doctor?” campaign, which aims to rebuild trust in medicine, science and physician expertise at a moment when all three are being tested.
Dr. Whyte highlighted the AMA’s involvement in the Vaccine Integrity Project as another example of the AMA elevating the voice of physicians to ensure that vaccine policy is driven by evidence and not politics.
Equipping physicians for a new frontier
While emphasizing that clinical excellence remains the foundation of every medical career, Dr. Whyte noted that physicians today do far more than diagnose and treat patients. They lead teams, navigate new technologies, communicate complex information, advocate for patients, and help influence how medicine is practiced.
Amid this unprecedented transformation, he said physicians must take an active role in leading that change. He highlighted the AMA's role in providing the skills, resources, and support physicians need to build successful careers and lead medicine's transformation.
“We lead by helping physicians build strong, sustainable careers across the full arc of professional life,” Dr. Whyte said.
The recent launch of the AMA Career Advancement Collective and additional educational opportunities that allow physicians to grow their leadership skills are part of the solution.
“Physicians must also be interpreters of information,” Dr. Whyte said. “Leaders of teams. Navigators of technology. Trusted voices in increasingly complex environments. And they need support not just at the beginning of their careers, but throughout their professional lives.”
No force is more rapidly changing the provision of care than augmented intelligence (AI). Dr. Whyte has noted since the earliest days of his tenure as CEO that physicians cannot be bystanders in the AI revolution.
Launched last fall, the AMA Center for Digital Health and AI is helping ensure that physicians lead the development, adoption, and oversight of emerging technologies so that AI strengthens patient care and supports the practice of medicine.
“We champion physician leadership in healthcare technology,” Dr. Whyte said. “That means leading how AI is used, not simply reacting to it. It means elevating physicians not simply as users of technology, but as the stewards of its design, implementation and its deployment.”
“Clarity in purpose”
In a period of uncertainty for medicine, Dr. Whyte said the AMA has sharpened its approach in support of physicians and to protect patients. ensure patient safety.
“The AMA has acted with greater urgency, greater clarity and a stronger sense of purpose,” he said. “When institutions backed away from science or jeopardized patient safety, the AMA stood up. We opposed changes to the vaccine schedule that put children at serious risk. We called out HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] for weakening the leadership of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and undermining essential evidence-based preventive care.”
The AMA’s work to reduce burdens that compromise patient care and fighting for physician well-being was also a centerpiece of Dr. Whyte’s remarks. Efforts to reform prior authorization, align Medicare payments with the true cost of running a practice and protecting the physician’s role in scope of practice have been central advocacy efforts of Dr. Whyte’s first year as CEO.
“Across the board, we have strengthened our advocacy by showing up earlier by speaking more clearly and more forcefully and by always keeping the focus where it belongs,” he said. “Because in this environment, it’s not enough to be right. We have to be heard. We have to act.”
Dr. Whyte concluded his speech to the House by saying the challenges of the past year have clarified the AMA’s purpose.
“We have positioned the AMA for medicine’s future,” he said. “With a clearer direction, a stronger voice and a deeper commitment to helping physicians navigate a future that will be more complex—and more consequential—than ever before.”
Read about the other highlights from the 2026 AMA Annual Meeting.
