wwww. Char l es tonPr imar yPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com | 65 Between his military medical training and his family medicine practice, perhaps it was inevitable that Dr. Gerald Harmon would look at the field of medicine in a holistic, “get ‘er done” way. Dr. Harmon, who lives in Pawleys Island, is the immediate past president of the American Medical Association and has an eagle’s eye view of the overall health of the medical field. He has seen the inequities in access to health care, demonstrated nowhere as clearly as it is here in South Carolina, and changing that situation has been a cornerstone of his time at the AMA. “When I look at the AMA and its mission, I also have to look at the huge health disparity in outcomes for Black, brown and Native Americans versus whites. The reality is that somehow we don’t deliver the same care. Pregnant moms who are Black have four times the negative outcomes as whites. We have to drill down and find out why that’s happening,” Dr. Harmon commented. Dr. Harmon oversaw the release of a health equity plan during the past year and, although it’s too soon to see how it will affect health outcomes, he’s optimistic that changes will come. He pointed out that telemedicine will help, but he added that it’s no panacea. KEEPING THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION HEALTHY By Helen Mitternight Dr. Gerald Harmon
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