THE FIRST ASIAN AMERICAN SURGEON GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES,

VICE ADMIRAL VIVEK H. MURTHY, M.D., M.B.A.

On November 2013, Murthy was nominated by President Obama for the post of United States Surgeon General.  AsiaAmericana joined a recent Health and Human Services media call with US Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy on February 26, 2015 @4:30pm.

Personal Background:

“My parents are originally from India; they left India in the 1970’s and eventually came to the United States for the same reasons that many immigrants did, they were searching for education and for opportunity for their children, for my sister and I,” said Dr. Murthy. His family settled in Miami, Florida where his father, a Family Medicine physician, and his mother set up a Primary Care Medical Practice Clinic. “It was spending time in this clinic with my parents that I found my inspiration for pursuing medicine and it was through them that I learned how important it was to not only to know what medicines are prescribed for and what tests to use but also to know how to build relationships with patients and how to understand the environment in which they lived”, said Dr. Murthy.  He worked many years with programs that improve health, including HIV Programs in India and the US, Rural Health Programs in India, and later, building programs to advocate for the expansion of insurance coverage and for better care for patients. Most recently, he organized and brought physicians together to work for a better healthcare system for all Americans. Through these experiences, he has learned the challenges that the US has been encountering in terms of health as well as the innovations at the local level where individuals are building programs and taking on these challenges with great success.

 

His Goals as a Surgeon General:

  1. Modernize how the Office of the Surgeon General communicates with the public about issues regarding health
  2. To work with communities to translate this information into action and impact

As part of both of these goals, he plans to work directly with communities to understand what challenges they are facing and to learn from them about the lessons they have gleaned from interventions they have tried and to share these lessons across communities to lift up health across the nation.

The issues that he is concerned about in terms of health:

“My greatest concerns are on obesity and chronic disease challenges specifically diabetes and cardiovascular diseases”, said Dr. Murthy. Obesity and cardiovascular diseases, where the US is losing most in terms of lives and in terms of dollars spent, will be his highest focus as Surgeon General.

Other Issues he will work on as Surgeon General are: tobacco use, substance abuse, mental health, and immunizations.

 

Questions Asked:

  1. What is your message for the Indian American Community? “I am certainly very proud to be an Indian American; I am proud to have that as part of my identity. One of the wonderful things living in a nation of immigrants is that we can all be Americans and bring our unique cultural heritages to the table to enrich the country”, said Dr. Murthy. The Indian American community has done quite well overall, however, many segments of the community are still struggling with diabetes and mental illness and the stigma that is still associated with that in the community. He hopes that Indian Americans take a more active role in screening their community for diabetes and mental illness and ensuring that their community is educated about these conditions. He also asks the Indian Americans to take a more active role in the public health of the nation. Dr. Murthy said that as a community with many immigrants that have been successful, there is opportunity and obligation to give back to the rest of society to ensure that not only Indian Americans but all Americans are healthier and stronger and that is a cause that the community can play a vital role in.
  2. Can you comment on the Ebola Czar?  Ron Klain, the Ebola Czar, played an important role in coordinating and leading the government’s efforts in dealing with the Ebola Crisis domestically and internationally. Dr. Murthy thanked him for all his work. Dr. Murthy remarked that there are no further Ebola cases reported in the US. He specially thanked the US Public Health Service Commission Corps and reports improvement in the crisis in parts of West Africa as well.
  3. Compared to prior Surgeon Generals who came from different backgrounds like Surgery and Family Practice, how does your background as a Hospitalist assist your work as Surgeon General?

“I have really enjoyed the time I spent in Clinical Medicine being a Hospitalist. Being a Hospitalist has given me a wonderful view into the challenges that people face during moments of acute illness”, said Dr. Murthy.  Throughout the years, he has taken cared of many patients who came to the hospital for treatment of acute illness and through these experiences he has learned the importance of having health insurance coverage and how much coverages have made in the lives of patients. Working as a Hospitalist has also given him an important view into how acute illness affect patients and families.  Working with patients and their families during these moments of crises, has given him  a much deeper appreciation of how important it is not only to have a healthcare system that could take good care of people but also how important it is to work hard to prevent illness in the first place.  As Surgeon General, he remarked, “I want to ensure that I am doing everything possible to cover people with insurance and to build a healthcare system that is high quality and low cost”. He will increase focus on prevention so that fewer patients have to go through the experiences of being hospitalized for acute illness.

  1. What is your view on the road ahead for a country like India in terms of keeping innovative research going with an eye firmly on public health? Public Health could not be more important to India than it is right now.  Here in the United States, we focus increasingly on the value that we deliver to patients and less on the volume of tests and care that is given. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Health Reform Lobby in the US, as well as the initiatives of private insurers and medical societies are leading the push for us to head in the direction of higher quality care at lower cost. An important part of this is focusing on public health and the well-being of the community. India, like that the United States, is grappling with how to address epidemics of obesity and chronic disease like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Every time he visits family in India, he is concerned by what he hears from medical providers there and community members that more of their friends and family have been impacted by diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. This is an important focus for both the United States and India going forward.  As Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy says “I plan to make obesity and chronic disease a focus”. Before he was sworn in as Surgeon General, he found out that advancing public health and particularly prevention was a priority for the new administration in India. India and the United States as well as other countries have more work to do. Dr. Murthy says, “we can make progress as individual nations but we can also partner together, work together, and learn from each other during this process”.
  2. As Surgeon General, what challenges do you anticipate with regard to health care coverage in the face of potential changes in the Affordable Care Act especially with the Supreme Court debate King vs. Burwell?  For Physicians to take care of patients, coverage is an essential part of ensuring you get the care that you need when you are sick and you get the preventative care that you need to stay healthy. He is concerned that citizens may be in a situation of losing health coverage or access to care, depending on what happens with the ruling. “My priority is making sure people have the tools that they need to stay healthy and coverage is one of them,” says Dr. Murthy.
  3. What are your impressions from your house call listening tour:
  1.  There is great concern about obesity, chronic diseases, mental health, and substance abuse
  2.  there are concerns about immunization rates especially given the current outbreak of measles
  3.  people have realized, in order to make a real impact on community health, they need to focus

on three main areas:

  1. making sure they are taking care to where people are as opposed to waiting for people to come  to hospitals and clinics
  2. to focus earlier and earlier in the life cycle, insuring that children at early ages are getting the tools and the education they need to live healthy lives
  3. communities want to build cross sector collaboration where they can build partnerships with organizations which have traditionally not been involved in health, like Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Commerce, and businesses without healthcare focus because these entities can ultimately have impact on health by influencing how cities are built or influencing  access to healthy foods.
  1. How can physicians support  your public health agenda?

“Physicians are an important part of improving the public health of the country. One of the first things that physicians can help us with is in getting the message out to the public on the importance of immunizations and particularly the measles vaccine”, says Dr. Murthy. There are 154 cases of measles that have been diagnosed recently in 17 states and in Washington DC. Many of the parents of children who are not vaccinated do not necessarily have strong-held views on the measles vaccine and many wonder if their kids really need the vaccine and may have heard rumors that the vaccine has side effects that may be dangerous. Many of these parents need to hear from trusted authorities in the healthcare world. They need, in particular,  to hear from their physicians that  vaccines for measles are safe and effective  and are the best way to protect their child. It is also important for us to consider how we train the next generation of physicians and to understand the importance of integrating primary care and public health. We need bridge two worlds, the world of medicine and public health, in order to create a new generation of practitioners who will be partners of the public health community in advancing both individual and public health.

  1. How will you address the mental health disparities in the Asian American community?

”Mental illness is a serious problem in the Asian American community as well as many communities in the United States”, said Dr. Murthy.  Ongoing stigma related to mental illness is a major problem. One of the things he will focus on is working with community leaders to address the stigma which prevents many Asian Americans to come forward and share their concerns regarding their mental health. Stigma prevents them from accessing treatment for the first time and also prevents them from continuing with treatment. He plans to work closely with Asian American organizations by increasing dialogue with the community members around mental health with the goal of eliminating the stigma and make it more permissible and acceptable for people come forward and seek help.

 

 

BIOGRAPHY OF SURGEON GENERAL VIVEK H. MURTHY, M.D., M.B.A.

 

Vice Admiral (VADM) Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., was nominated by President Barack Obama in November 2013 and confirmed on December 15, 2014 as the 19th United States Surgeon General. As America’s Doctor, Dr. Murthy is responsible for communicating the best available scientific information to the public regarding ways to improve personal health and the health of the nation. He also oversees the operations of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, comprised of approximately 6,700 uniformed health officers who serve in locations around the world to promote, protect, and advance the health and safety of our nation.

Dr. Murthy has devoted himself to improving public health through the lens of service, clinical care, research, education, and entrepreneurship. The son of immigrants from India, Dr. Murthy discovered a love for the art of healing early in his childhood while spending time in his father’s medical clinic in Miami, Florida. After attending Miami Palmetto Senior High School, he received his Bachelor’s degree from Harvard, and his M.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Yale. He completed his residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School where he later joined the faculty as an internal medicine physician and instructor. As a clinician-educator, Dr. Murthy has cared for thousands of patients and trained hundreds of residents and medical students. He regards caring for patients as the greatest privilege of his life.

In addition to clinical practice, Dr. Murthy has two decades of experience and perspective improving health in communities across the country and around the world. He co-founded VISIONS, an HIV/AIDS education program in India and the United States, which he led for eight years. As its president, he established ten chapters with hundreds of volunteers in both countries and grew the organization’s education programs to reach more than 45,000 youth. Dr. Murthy also co-founded the Swasthya project (“health and wellbeing” in Sanskrit), a community health partnership in rural India, to train women to be health providers and educators. During his five-year tenure with the organization, he established seed funding and helped expand research and direct care programs that reached tens of thousands of rural residents.

As a research scientist, Dr. Murthy has conducted laboratory research on vaccine development and studied the participation of women and minorities in clinical trials. His research findings have been published in Science, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Murthy is also a healthcare entrepreneur and innovator. He co-founded and chaired a successful software technology company, TrialNetworks, which improves research collaboration and enhances the efficiency of clinical trials around the world. In seven years, Dr. Murthy and his team took the company from conception to an international enterprise that powers dozens of clinical trials for over 50,000 patients in more than 75 countries. Dr. Murthy has also served as the president of Doctors for America, a non-profit organization with more than 16,000 physicians and medical students in all 50 states who work with patients and policymakers to build a high quality, affordable health system for all.

Seen by many as a proven leader who can use 21st century approaches and technology to modernize the role of Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy will focus his efforts on building cross-sector partnerships in communities to address the epidemics of obesity and tobacco-related disease, to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, to improve vaccination rates, and to make prevention and health promotion the backbone of our communities. Dr. Murthy firmly believes that our nation’s greatest strength has always come from its people. Improving the health of our people means strengthening our communities and our country. That will be Dr. Murthy’s highest priority as Surgeon General.