LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville doctor tapped to lead physicians across the country will step into his new role this week.
Dr. Bruce Scott, a head and neck surgeon, has been in private practice for the last 36 years. On Tuesday, he becomes the president of the American Medical Association, the largest and most influential association of doctors nationwide.
"I've been preparing for this in theory for a year. But just earlier today, it hit me, Wow!" Scott said.
Scott serves as the President of Kentuckiana Ear, Nose & Throat, and is board-certified in both Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic Surgery. The Saint X High School alum spent his entire medical career affecting change in his hometown of Louisville and across the state, earning titles like "Top Doc" and "Top Surgeon" by Louisville Magazine one of the "Best Physicians in America" by national publications.
Now, he's ready to take his ideas to a national level.
"I've held a number of leadership roles. But this is the pinnacle," Scott said. "The AMA is the largest and most influential association of member physicians, and we're really the ally for physicians and for our patients. Our goal is to continually improve public health, whether that's through a pandemic or chronic diseases, and we're looking to push forward the art and science of medicine and health care. We do that through a variety of advocacy activities. We work in the courts to try to protect patients and physicians. We work through the media to try to spread the message. And then, we work with individual states and specialties and individual physicians to try to advance health care."
The list of 'to-do's' is long.
"Healthcare in America has a lot of issues and a lot of problems that we need to address right now. That's going to largely be the focus of my presidency," Scott said.
At the top of his list: easing the administrative burdens on doctors.
"I am passionate about practicing medicine and providing good care and the health care system ought to help doctors do that," he said.
Scott will spend the next year traveling across the country, advocating for solutions and creating policy that puts physicians and patients in a better spot, especially when it comes to insurance companies.
"Most of the time, heck, they can't even say otolaryngology, much less actually practice it. And I've got to justify to them what the patient and I have decided, That's not good, that needs to change," he said.
Then, there's the issue of accessibility.
"I see it in my practice. People drive for hours to see us and we try to provide the best care we can and then try to get them hooked up with a physician back in their community. And a lot of times, there's no physician there to hook them up with," Scott said. "Many physicians practices, believe it or not, are on the brink of failure financially, or they choose they have no option, but to become employed to join a hospital or other large employment groups. And that consolidation in healthcare, I believe, is reducing the options that are available for patients. The eastern and the western parts of our state are almost a crisis level."
His job will take him across the country, to places like Chicago where the AMA is headquartered and Washington D.C. to advocate on Capital Hill.
"In addition to that, we travel around the United States to spread our message and to work with the different state medical associations. And then, I have recently been chosen to represent America at the World Medical Association. So, I will be traveling internationally as well."
Still, Scott plans to keep practicing in Louisville, fighting for the right fix.
Childhood friend and doctor, James Patrick Murphy, said there's no better person for the job.
"It doesn't surprise me that Bruce would go into something challenging and meaningful," Murphy said. "Because he was a very bright kid."
Standing along Standiford Lane, near the airport, in the neighborhood where the two grew up, Murphy remembers how invested and hard working Scott was as a young boy.
"He could have done anything he wanted to," Murphy said. "He is a specialist right now, one of the most highly trained doctors in the world in Ear, Nose and Throat, restoring people's voices. It's fitting now that he's also going to be the voice of the AMA. I'm looking forward to what he does with that."
Scott said no one gets to this position without the support of those around them. He thanked his family, friends, and partners at Kentuckiana Ear Nose & Throat.
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