J James Rohack

J.James Rohack, MD, a senior staff cardiologist at Scott & White Clinic in Temple, Texas, became the 164th president of the American Medical Association (AMA) in June 2009. Dr. Rohack has been a member of the AMA Board of Trustees since 2001 and served as chair from 2004 to 2005. He has served as treasurer of the board of commissioners of the Joint Commission, chaired the National Advisory Council to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and is one of the principals of the Hospital Quality Alliance. In 2009 he was voted No. 20 in the 50 Most Powerful Physician Executives in Healthcare by the readers of Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician magazines. A board-certified cardiologist, Dr. Rohack is actively involved in patient care at Scott & White Clinic, where he serves as the director of the Center for Healthcare Policy and as the medical director for system improvement of the Scott & White Health Plan—a not-for-profit health plan that is nationally recognized for quality health care delivery. A professor in both the Departments of Medicine and Humanities at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Dr. Rohack’s past leadership responsibilities include president of the American Heart Association’s Texas affiliate, president of the Texas Medical Association (TMA), chair of the TMA Council on Medical Education and member of the TMA board of trustees. Dr. Rohack’s lifetime commitment to advancing educational standards includes serving on the AMA Council on Medical Education, in addition to serving as the AMA representative to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education and the Liaison Committee on Specialty Boards, as well as on the steering committee of the Federation of State Medical Boards-convened Summits on Assessment of Physician Competency. Dr. Rohack, who is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Physicians, has also served on the Bush School of Government & Public Service Advisory Board, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Executive Advisory Panel, the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health External Advisory Committee, and the board of directors of the American College of Cardiology, Texas chapter. Born in Rochester, N.Y., Dr. Rohack received his BS degree with highest honors from the University of Texas at El Paso and his MD degree with honors from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 1980. He has received a Distinguished Alumnus award from both institutions. Dr. Rohack lives on a small ranch near Bryan, Texas, that also serves as a wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and release facility directed by his wife, Charli. They have one daughter.