Viewing page 104 of 256

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

NMA president describes paradoxes facing blacks

[[image - black & white photograph of Emery Rann, MD]]

[[caption]] NMA President Emery Rann, MD...issues a warning against growing federal controls in medicine. [[/caption]]

When local authorities determine who gets funds to go to medical school, "we know, from our own experience...the poor and the black are going to be ignored as long as possible," said the new president of the National Medical Assn.

Emery L. Rann, MD, was delivering his inaugural address in New York City. The Charlotte, N.C., general practitioner pointed out the paradoxes in the black physician's dealings with the federal government.

Until recently, he noted, it was possible for the poor student to get a federal medical education loan—and a boost in black enrollment at medical schools has been one of NMA's brightest hopes. The Administration's shift to revenue sharing with states and local governments may be changing all that, however.

WITH FINANCIAL control shifting back to the schools themselves, it may be harder for a black to get in, he said. 

"The omnipresent federal government is providing some payment for the poor, but at the same time, is insidiously creeping into control of the practice of medicine," Dr. Rann said.

In the legislative area, there are many health care delivery programs before Congress to which "labor and other interested groups are giving their input—with as much independence of physicians as is possible," he said. 

Professional Standards Review Organizations go into effect next year, Dr. Rann noted, yet there is danger that peer-review standards will not allow for the special problems of physicians caring for the poor.

"I AM CONCERNED in this matter because the poor...have unique problems, not seen in more affluent circles. 

"A working man comes into my office with a sore throat. Since he cannot wait for the outcome of a smear and culture, I treat him, hoping I have given him the right antibiotic. Neither can I order metabolic packages, and EKGs, and x-rays at random, for many patients just can't afford to pay half of their salaries for the sake of 'good medicine.'

"Without an honest appraisal of such factors, there can be no 'peer' review," said Dr. Rann. "I don't see how a doctor from the ivory towers, no matter how sincere, how dedicated, how honest, can be considered exactly a peer to those who fight the battle of ghetto and rural health."

"WE ARE CONFRONTED with a government which is unhappy with the means of delivering health care, and there are at least 10 (national health insurance plans) under study—some aimed at eliminating Medicare or Medicaid, or both. Most of these would raise the tax burden by billions of dollars, without serving the purpose for which intended."

Dr. Rann said he could sympathize, "although I cannot agree, with the strong movement...to form medical unions."

"These physicians sense the futility of fighting unfair attitudes or actions, and are willing to drop their professional status to that of tradesmen and laborer. I can understand it—but I can't agree."

INDUSTRY AND research opportunities are "skimming off the cream" of young scientists who might otherwise go into medicine, Dr. Rann said.

"We need more black doctors, and doctors dedicated to caring for all people, regardless of their state of health, and regardless of where they are."

NMA, founded in 1895 "because of racial exclusiveness of some other medical organizations" continues to have a sense of unity and an "inborn sense of communication" about these problems, said Dr. Rann.

"The black doctor, and the doctor for the poor...must lead the way to a reemphasis on the art of medicine, where there is an involvement in, and even inclusion in, the patient's life style. He must direct his own life away from the purely scientific interest and pursuits into those aspects of life which include cultural, community, and religious growth."


Hospital programs favored
Black MDs urge major campaign against hypertension
  
Hypertension is the most serious medical problem affecting black people, several speakers agreed at the National Medical Assn. meeting in New York City.

In a scientific program that ranged across many medical areas, hypertension clearly got the most attention. In addition to other presentations, a day-long symposium was devoted to it.

Sickle-cell anemia and venereal disease continue to be major medical concerns for blacks, by hypertension "without a doubt" is the most serious, said Emery Rann, MD, new NMA president.

EDWARD W. Hawthorne, MD, termed hypertension an "epidemic" among blacks. More blacks, particularly black women, are "significantly affected" by hypertension than any other group, said Dr. Hawthorne, chairman of the department of physiology at Howard U. College of Medicine.

"We have the ability, but not the opportunity to deal with the problem," he said, urging a more vigorous community education to make clear the need for early detection and control.

Michael Williams, MD, of Harlem Hospital Medical Center, said an estimated one-third of the U.S. black population is either hypertensive or potentially hypertensive. Bringing blood pressure