Advocacy

Missouri Physician Chosen as AMA President-elect


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Physicians gathered at the Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) voted for David O. Barbe, M.D., M.H.A., a family physician from Mountain Grove, Mo., to be the next president-elect of the nation’s premier physician organization. Following a year-long term as president-elect, Dr. Barbe will assume the office of AMA president in June 2017.

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“It is a tremendous honor and privilege to be elected by my peers to be president-elect of an organization that is dedicated to improving the practice environment for physicians, the education of our medical students and the health of the patients we serve,” said Dr. Barbe. “I am eager to continue the strong work of the AMA in shaping America’s health care system to better meet the needs of patients and physicians both now and in the future.”

 

Dr. Barbe was first elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in 2009 and served on numerous AMA committees and task forces. He served as chair of the board from 2013-2014, as well as a member of its executive committee from 2011-2015.

Dr. Barbe has practiced family medicine in his hometown of Mountain Grove in rural southern Missouri for more than 30 years. After 15 years in independent practice, he merged his medical group with Mercy Clinic, Springfield, Mo., a 650-physician, multi-specialty integrated group. In his current role as vice-president of regional operations for Mercy, he is responsible for five hospitals, 90 clinics and more than 200 physicians and advanced practitioners. He also serves on the executive management team of Mercy-Springfield, which was ranked No. 1 in the nation in IMS Health’s 100 Top Integrated Health Networks in 2012 and is one of Truven Health Analytics’ top 20 large community hospitals.

 

Dr. Barbe continues to live and practice in his hometown of Mountain Grove, Mo. He and his wife, Debbie Barbe, B.S.N., R.N., have two children and six grandchildren.