Washington, D.C., April 29, 2003 - Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., issued the following statement at today's Health Care Access Rally on Capitol Hill:

"On behalf of the Association of American Medical Colleges, whose primary mission is the health of the nation through the advancement of medical schools and teaching hospitals, I want to thank the Congressional Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Native American Caucus, and Asian and Pacific American Caucus for the opportunity to speak at this rally today.

Making sure that ALL Americans have access to a responsive health care system with no disparities in treatment or outcomes is a goal the AAMC has long been committed to, and I want to commend Representatives Christian-Christensen, Honda, Pallone, and Solis, who are working so hard to achieve this result.

We are all aware of how disparity in health care can cause suffering on many levels. It seriously disrupts the lives of individuals, and impacts our nation in broader social and economic terms.

We also know that there is no single approach or solution capable of transforming our current health care system into one that is inclusive and equitable. As indicated by this event's core principles, establishing appropriate access requires a concerted multi-prong effort to address such issues as insurance, distribution of health care services, culturally competent care and more.

As a medical educator dedicated to achieving the objectives expressed by the core principles, I'd like to focus my remarks today on what I believe is a crucial element for this transformation-that is, creating a diverse health professions workforce. Here are four reasons why:

First, diversity helps increase access to medical care and can improve health outcomes. In medicine, for example, numerous studies demonstrate that minority physicians are more likely than their non-minority counterparts to serve minority populations. Moreover, empirical evidence suggests that minority patients are more reluctant to accept physician recommendations or seek medical care. However, when given the choice, these patients tend to choose, and be more satisfied with, physicians of their own race and background. In turn, research indicates that increasing the level of satisfaction of minority patients with their physicians increases the likelihood that they will seek preventive care, follow a physician's recommendations, and continue with necessary treatment.

Second, diversity can expand knowledge, skills, and attitudes of health professionals. Diversity in the classroom helps students, who are our future health care providers, understand how culturally determined factors affect health. And a cadre of "culturally competent" health professionals that reflect the nation's demography will translate into a workforce that can more effectively treat people from a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Third, diversity is needed to broaden the nation's medical research agenda. Many unsolved health problems disproportionately affect minority populations. Diversity in the research workforce can strengthen the nation's health care agenda by investigating these problems, because what individuals take an interest in depends to a great extent on their personal cultural and ethnic filters.

Finally, diversity can improve health care services and positively affect public policy. As is the case for virtually all sectors of the U.S. economy, it is simply smart business for health care organizations to draw their leadership from a richly diverse talent pool that mirrors the racial and ethnic makeup of the nation. Similarly, policymakers who reflect the diversity of the nation will create policies that can avoid disparities.

The health of our nation depends on diversity within the health care workforce. The AAMC is deeply dedicated to accomplishing this goal by increasing diversity among medical students, medical school faculty, practicing physicians, researchers, health care administrators, and policymakers.

We look forward to working with Congress and other partners to rid our health care system of all disparities and ensure that everyone has access to the care they need."

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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