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AMA President Addresses Health Care Issues,
Possible Solutions During Lecture
03/10/2006
OXFORD, Miss. - The president of the American Medical Association said Friday
that national health care is wet clay that must be molded to benefit the public.
“Costs are skyrocketing, public health is suffering and proven solutions
seem out of the grasp of most of us,” said J. Edward Hill, during a lecture
at the University of Mississippi's Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing
Arts.
The 30th annual Charles W. Hartman Memorial Lecture was sponsored by the UM
School of Pharmacy, and Hill addressed the topic of “The U.S. Health Care
Dilemma: Is a New System on the Horizon?”
The distinguished doctor pointed to obesity, which costs the country about $75
billion a year, and other bad habits, such as drug abuse and smoking.
“The cost estimates I use come from a variety of sources, but when you
add them up, it's about $822 billion a year," he said. “That's more
than double the cost of Medicaid last year, and about half the national health
care bill of $1.7 trillion.”
One possible solution is providing incentives for schools to encourage healthy
behavior in children. Often physical education programs are the first to be
cut when a school's budget is tight, so children lose out on valuable education
about health issues, Hill said.
The AMA also developed a three-pillar plan supporting the idea of individual
empowerment:
First, individual tax credits going straight to patients would give health
insurance money to people who don't make enough to owe federal income taxes.
Second, individuals would have more choices about their health insurance coverage.
Third, the health care system should undergo regulatory reform so that both
the sickest and healthiest could afford coverage.
Currently, more than 15 percent of Americans do not have health insurance,
but under the AMA plan, Hill said 95 percent of the country would be covered.
Hill ended his address with a message to all current and future medical professionals.
Dr. Hill encouraged pharmacy students and practitioners to practice healthy
lifestyles in order to serve as role models for patients. He encouraged all
health professionals to adopt public health as their “second specialty.”
He spoke about the importance of increasing enrollments in health professions
schools and of committing more resources to schools to support larger enrollments.
Dr. Hill described his own opportunity early in his career to work with a pharmacist.
He spoke of the value of that relationship in improving the lives of his patients.
He described the “ability to be a team player” as a characteristic
critical to the success of young health professionals. He emphasized that our
patients expect health professionals to talk with each other, and that we need
to do a better job of that. He encouraged pharmacy practitioners to step up
to deliver medication therapy management services in order to “save lives
by keeping patients on good regimens without harmful interaction.” If pharmacists
serve in these roles, he predicted that quality and safety of health care will
soar, while costs are reduced. He challenged students to be active leaders on
the health care team, and he charged health care professionals to become activists
to advocate for their patients and for their professions.
“As health care leaders during this difficult time, we have no choice
but to sit down at the potter's stool, put our foot to the pedal of the potter's
wheel and start spinning a revolution in health care,” he said.
Barbara Wells, dean of the UM School of Pharmacy, said it was an honor for
the school to host Hill, who has worked tirelessly to enhance the quality of
health care, not only in Mississippi but also across the country.
“He is a servant leader who is a champion for enhanced access to quality
health care for all Americans and health care education for all of our children,”
she said. “His comments are particularly relevant at this time in our history
when so many are without insurance coverage, and the health care system is in
dire need of change to meet the needs of the poor and growing elderly population.
His challenge is for all health professionals to become leaders and activists
on behalf of our patients and our professions.”
Hill received his undergraduate degree at UM and his medical degree from the
University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He began his medical career
as a General Medical Officer in the U.S. Navy, where he served on the USS Frontier
and at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Bremerton, Wash. In 1968, he began a private
practice in the rural Mississippi Delta, where he worked for 27 years.
Besides his leadership in the AMA, Hill has served as chair of the Board of
Trustees and president of the Mississippi State Medical Association, president
of the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, delegate to the American Academy
of Family Physicians and president of the Southern Medical Association.
He is considered a national leader and expert on rural maternal and child health,
and his goals as AMA president have included improving health care coverage
for the uninsured, enhancing medical quality and safety, and promoting comprehensive
school health education.
The Hartman Lecture was established at UM in 1973 to honor the late Charles
W. Hartman, who was dean of the pharmacy school from 1961 until his death in
1970. During his tenure, he organized the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical
Sciences and the Bureau of Pharmaceutical Services.
For more information about the School of Pharmacy, visit
http://www.pharmacy.olemiss.edu.
by Jennifer Farish
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