AMA recommends that physicians should learn about health economics

Should physicians learn about health economics? The American Medical Association (AMA) thinks so. In a statement from 2019, the organization stated

The American Medical Association (AMA) today adopted new policy expanding its efforts aimed at ensuring all medical students and residents receive training in health care economics. Building on the AMA’s ongoing work to transform the way future physicians are trained to deliver care within modern health systems, the new policy encourages medical schools and residency programs to include basic content related to the structure and financing of the current health care system in their curricula.

Specifically, the AMA calls on medical schools and residency programs to incorporate content on the organization of health care delivery, modes of practice, practice settings, cost effective use of diagnostic and treatment services, practice management, risk management, and quality assurance. The policy also calls on these programs to ensure that medical students and residents are presented with content related to the environment and economics of medical practice in fee-for-service, managed care and other financing systems at an educationally appropriate time during their training.

While this is a bit of old news, it is exciting to see physicians learn more about my field (health economics). In fact, AMA has developed a free online education module titled “Introducing Health Care Policy and Economics”.