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Interested in Becoming a Fellow? Join a distinguished group of over 31,000 internists and leaders who already share this honor.
Sponsor a Fellow Continue the tradition of Fellowship by sharing your own experience and offering to support other members' candidacies.
Hundreds of curated CME and MOC activities that match your interests and meet your needs for modular education, many free to members.
ACP's annual meeting will be in San Diego, CA from April 27-29, 2023. More info coming soon.
Explore our virtual course offerings and learn from anywhere.
Treating a patient? Researching a topic? Get answers now.
Billing and coding, accessing financial assistance, payer policies, and other updated guidance.
Offering guidance on clinical use cases, technology, regulations and waivers, and billing and coding.
ACP advocates on behalf on internists and their patients on a number of timely issues. Learn about where ACP stands on the following areas:
© Copyright 2021 American College of Physicians, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 190 North Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1572 800-ACP-1915 (800-227-1915) or 215-351-2600
WASHINGTON, October 10, 2022 – Indigenous populations continue to suffer significant barriers and disparities in health care, due in part to the federal government failing to provide adequate health support and services for these communities, says the American College of Physicians (ACP) in a new position paper published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Supporting the Health and Well-being of Indigenous Communities: A Position Paper from the American College of Physicians. The paper says that policymakers have an obligation to fulfill the federal trust responsibility to provide equitable health care and other services to Indigenous populations in the U.S., including sufficient financial resources to support their care.
“Public policy must be supported with proper funding for those Indigenous populations whose health care challenges are unsurprising, given historical societal discrimination towards Indigenous peoples and governments’ policies of violence, forced relocation and erasure of cultures and traditions,” said Ryan D. Mire, MD, MACP, President, ACP. “With the proper health-care funding, the government will be fulfilling its duty of providing the same proper medical care, services and access as it provides for others.”
In recent years, Indigenous populations have experienced high rates of chronic diseases, death due to unintentional and intentional injuries, and infant mortality. These disparities have arisen in-part from the historical trauma associated with decades of racism, discrimination, and violence; subsequent poor social drivers of health; the degradation of Indigenous traditions, culture, and society; and inadequate access to and chronic insufficient funding of health care services for Indigenous populations.
ACP offers several recommendations for public policymakers at the federal level to strengthen the health and well-being of Indigenous populations in a manner that reflects the need for self-determination and collaboration while ensuring federal obligations are met. Specifically, ACP believes:
“ACP is looking forward to using our policy to support the advocacy that Indigenous people are doing to improve the health and welfare of their communities. Conversations around health care and public health interventions for Indigenous people must be respectful and responsive to their unique challenges, culture, traditions, and values,” concluded Dr. Mire.
About the American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 160,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
ACP Media Contact: Andrew Hachadorian, (215) 351-2514, AHachadorian@acponline.org
© Copyright 2021 American College of Physicians, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 190 North Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1572 800-ACP-1915 (800-227-1915) or 215-351-2600