Mercy exec transitions to AMA chairman

Dr. David Barbe has been re-elected to a second term on the governing board of the American Medical Association, paving the way for his transition to chairman.

Barbe, who practices family medicine in Mountain Grove and also manages Mercy’s clinics in the Springfield area, was re-elected by physicians and medical students during the AMA's annual meeting yesterday in Chicago, according to a news release.

The AMA Board of Trustees is expected to vote today to confirm Barbe as chairman. Barbe, who was first elected to the board in 2009, served as chairman-elect during the past year.

“It is a great honor to continue serving on the AMA’s Board of Trustees,” Barbe said in the release. “I look forward to supporting physicians as the AMA works to advance the health of the nation and shape a better future for America’s patients.”

As chairman, Barbe will lead the management of the health care advocacy organization serving some 350,000 U.S. physicians.