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AMA announces APA member Patrice Harris, MD, as president-elect
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Patrice Harris, MD, MA, long-time member of the American Psychiatric Association, was elected president-elect of the American Medical Association today during the 2018 AMA annual meeting.
“It will be my honor to represent the nation’s physicians at the forefront of discussions when policymaker and lawmakers search for practical solutions to the challenges in our nation’s health system,” Harris said in a press release. “The AMA has well-crafted policy concerning the changing health care environment in this country and I look forward to using my voice to help improve health care for patients and their physicians.”
Chair of the AMA Opioid Task Force and adjunct assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University, Harris has served on the AMA Board of Trustees since 2011, as secretary from 2014 to 2015 and as chair from 2016 to 2017, according to a press release. Harris is the first African-American woman to become president-elect of AMA.
Currently the chief health officer for Fulton County, Georgia, she has led efforts to integrate public health, behavioral health and primary care, according to the release. Harris has also acted as Director of Health Services in Fulton County, Georgia, head of the Fulton County Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and past president of the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association. As a member of the APA, Harris has also served on the Board of Trustees.
“I’m elated that Dr. Harris has been elected President of the AMA,” APA President Altha Stewart, MD, said in a press release. “This is a great day for the APA and for psychiatry. The APA Board of Trustees looks forward to continuing to work with her as both organizations collaborate to increase patient access to care and improve the practice of medicine.”