Washington, D.C., October 28, 2008—The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) today issued six principles to help guide reform of the nation's health care system.

Noting that the United States health care system faces a crisis of access, cost, and quality, the AAMC document calls for U.S. medical schools and major teaching hospitals to play "a pivotal role in improving health and health care and in achieving positive changes in the health care system," given their significant roles as health care providers, educators of future physicians, and discoverers of new scientific knowledge. Such reform must improve both health care delivery and financing, while preserving the greatest strengths of the current system. The goal of the new AAMC principles is to guide this process.

"Ensuring access to safe, high-quality, appropriate, and affordable patient-centered health care should be the focus of any national dialogue on reforming the U.S. health care system," said AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D. "With a concerted effort from both the private and public sectors, we believe the goal of affordable, quality health care for all is achievable and sustainable within the next decade."

The AAMC's six principles of health care reform affirm that:

• Affordable, transportable, and continuous health care coverage that combines the best of public and private systems should be available to all.
• The U.S. system must be restructured to promote wellness and disease prevention, while providing high-quality, cost-effective diagnosis and treatment of illness, as well as palliative care.
• Health care financing mechanisms should be sustainable, equitable, explicit, accountable, and promote efficiency and quality.
• Existing programs that serve defined populations should be maintained until superior alternatives can fully replace them.
• The supply of health care practitioners must be adequate and reflect the population and its health care needs.
• Any reconfiguration of the health care system should acknowledge and support the costs inherent in health research, technology development, and the provision of necessary specialized services.

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 131 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 nearly 90 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 128,000 faculty members, 75,000 medical students, and 110,000 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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