Steven J. Stack will be second Lexington physician in three years to lead the American Medical Association
Stack, at 43, is the youngest president of the organization in a century, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal. He is the first board-certified emergency physician elected to the post, which he will fill in June 2015.
“It’s an immense honor and a total joy and a thrill,” Stack told Ungar.
Stack will be the second Lexington doctor in three years to hold the office. AMA’s immdiate past president is Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven, an infectious disease specialist.
“It’s a fluke of history,” Stack told Ungar.
Stack is a practicing physician and former medical director for emergency departments at St. Joseph East in Lexington and St. Joseph Mt. Sterling.
Stack’s experience as the chair of the AMA’s Health Information Technology Advisory Group from 2007 to 2013 and also as a member of the federal advisory groups for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology puts him in a position to help further one of the many goals of the Affordable Care Act—to expand information technology.
Stack told Ungar he also plans “to work on improving medical education, reducing diabetes and pre-diabetes in the population and helping ensure doctors are satisfied with their jobs so they can better help patients.”
Stack came to Lexington with his wife Tracie, a pediatric allergist, and their 9-year-old daughter in 2006, Ungar writes. He has been active in the AMA for years and has held several offices. He has also been a legislative voice for local Kentucky issues, such as prescription drug abuse and medical liability reform. (Read more)