First of all, thanks for taking the time to read this when most of us — whether or not we work in health care — are already overwhelmed. Let’s face it — COVID-19 has changed everything. But what does it mean for the future of our health? We know the pandemic revealed the tremendous strength of our nation’s clinicians, scientists, and other front-line workers; but it also exposed the U.S. health care system’s continued challenges related to access, equity, and public health infrastructure, among others. How long will the renewed attention to equity, access, cost, and public health last? Is this time really different?
Introducing the AAMC Research and Action Institute
Last year, the AAMC embarked on a new strategic plan in part to address some of the significant challenges and opportunities in our country’s health, from addressing widespread health disparities to expanding access to care. We also created a think tank — the AAMC Research and Action Institute — that will tackle a number of these challenges and others facing the U.S. health care system.
I’m a general internist with a health policy and economics background. Though I am an academic at heart, I have lived and worked for a long time inside the Beltway. What strikes me as missing from most of our conversations in health policy in Washington is the ability to balance academic rigor with political feasibility in plain, actionable English. That starts with defining — and sometimes explaining the complexity of — the problem, rather than immediately jumping to solutions or slogans.
It is my honor to launch this new endeavor with the help of my AAMC colleagues, as well as many of you who already work with successful think tanks and other sectors and have provided invaluable advice and input. I hope we can break apart some complex problems, find a common understanding of their core components, and come up with feasible — but not necessarily popular — solutions.
While much work is ahead, we have been working to take a piece-by-piece approach to the challenges of COVID-19 while not losing sight of the wider implications of the global pandemic. I invite you to read more about my thoughts on how far we’ve come since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges we still face.
In the meantime, I appreciate you welcoming this message into your inbox. I plan to send periodic updates and new releases from the institute, and I hope you will give me your feedback about the issues the nation needs to understand or approach differently. I’d love to hear what you think about how academic medicine and the AAMC can contribute to unique solutions — and when leaders need to rethink our approach to long-standing problems.
I’d also love suggestions about who we might partner with in academia, the private sector, or government as we engage future research fellows.
With gratitude,
Atul
