Invoking the late Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs as a model for bold, disruptive thinking, AMA President Willie Underwood III, MD, MSc, MPH, told physicians gathered at tonight’s opening session of the 2026 AMA Interim Meeting in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, that medicine can no longer afford to accept the status quo. Instead, the profession must begin reimagining what’s possible for patients, physicians and the future of healthcare delivery.
Dr. Underwood recalled an era in the not-too-distant past when people carried around cumbersome binders of compact discs because “it was the system and the system worked.” Steve Jobs changed the equation by imagining something entirely different.
Speaking to members of the AMA House of Delegates, Dr. Underwood implored them to ask: What if we could design a better health system?
“What if we looked at something familiar and saw a new possibility?” Dr. Underwood said. “A health system truly built around the needs of patients and physicians. I believe we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to do exactly that.” (Read Dr. Underwood’s speech.)
When the healthcare system stops working
Dr. Underwood, a urologist in Buffalo, New York, used his recent experiences as a patient during a dental emergency to explore central issues in the delivery of care. Dr. Underwood’s dental problem was going to require a root canal to resolve. While the solution to Dr. Underwood’s malady was straightforward, a convoluted prior-authorization process delayed the treatment by weeks.
A system powered by paperwork rather than patient needs or physician know-how is one that is not effective or sustainable, Dr. Underwood argued.
“These are not simply administrative problems. It interferes with our ability to heal, to help and to serve.
When our system prevents us from doing that, we must change the system.”
Learn more about how the AMA is fighting to fix prior authorization by challenging insurance companies to eliminate care delays, patient harms and practice hassles.
Reimagining what’s possible in medicine
Transformational change to healthcare will require buy-in and feedback from a wide swath of stakeholders. Dr. Underwood pointed to physicians, patients, researchers, policymakers and innovators—who may not be entrenched in the industry—as key voices in shaping what comes next for healthcare.
The AMA has a unique role in convening those perspectives and turning vision into action. The Association, Dr. Underwood said, is already demonstrating what that work looks like through efforts such as:
- Pushing for stronger federal oversight of prior authorization requirements and pressing insurers to deliver on promised reforms.
- Working in tandem with AMA Federation of Medicine partners to secure prior-authorization reforms in two dozen states and more than 100 victories protecting physician-led, team-based care.
- Recognizing hospitals and health systems through Joy in Medicine® for measurable progress on physician well-being.
- Advancing bipartisan legislation for a more sustainable Medicare payment model.
- Standing up for science, vaccines and evidence-based care.
In the same way that Jobs looked at stacks of CDs and thought there had to be another way, Dr. Underwood said physicians must “think differently” to look beyond the limit of the nation’s current healthcare system.
“We don't have to accept the world as it is,” Dr. Underwood said. ”We can imagine the world as it should be. Thinking differently is the courage to look beyond the limits of today and envision something better.
Technology will be at the center of what comes next, he argued.
“What if new technology removed barriers [to care] instead of creating new ones?” he asked.
From AI implementation to digital health adoption and EHR usability, the AMA is fighting to make technology work for physicians, ensuring that it is an asset to doctors and the patients they care for.
Turning frustration into inspiration
To move forward, there must be an acknowledgement of what is not working for the profession but also a commitment to fresh approaches, the AMA’s president said in his address to the hundreds of gathered delegates.
“This is where thinking differently becomes more than an idea,” Dr. Underwood said. “It becomes a responsibility. We cannot simply describe what's broken. We cannot hope it will improve by itself. Because we all know hope is not a strategy.”
And what might visionary change to the healthcare system look like?
“A future where physicians are empowered to practice medicine,” he said. “Where patients receive the care they need, when they need it. A future where our health system works for people instead of forcing people to work around the system.
“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,” Dr. Underwood concluded. “That is our mission. That is our calling. And this is our moment.”
Read about the other highlights from the 2026 AMA Interim Meeting.
