"We have heard from many in our physician community and beyond this past week who expressed anger, hurt, frustration and concern about a harmful podcast that was posted on the JAMA Network and the AMA Ed Hub, along with the tweet that promoted it. They both minimized the effects of systemic racism in health care and questioned its profound impact on millions of people across our country.
To be clear, structural racism exists in the U.S. and in medicine, genuinely affecting the health of all people, especially people of color and others historically marginalized in society. This is not opinion or conjecture, it is proven in numerous studies, through the science and in the evidence. As physicians, and as leaders in medicine, we have a responsibility to not only acknowledge and understand the impact of structural racism on the lives of our patients, but to speak out against racial injustices wherever they exist in health care and society.
The AMA issued a statement expressing our anger and concern and noted the obvious inconsistencies with AMA policy, published research and our understanding about systemic racism. JAMA Editor-in-Chief Howard Bauchner, MD, issued an apology to JAMA stakeholders and staff, many of whom said they were offended and outraged by the events. In the apology, Dr. Bauchner stated that "racism and structural racism exist in the U.S. and in health care". He also asked for, received and accepted the resignation of Deputy Editor for Clinical Reviews and Education Edward H. Livingston, MD, who hosted the podcast.
