CMA Past President Takes the Reins as AMA’s 161st President
[Posted 06/15/06]

CMA Past President William G. Plested, M.D., was installed this week as AMA’s 161st president at the association’s annual meeting in Chicago.

Dr. Plested, a cardiothoracic surgeon in private practice in Santa Monica, is a passionate defender of patients’ rights and the right of physicians to make medical decisions with their patients without third-party interference.

Dr. Plested was CMA president from 1989 to 1990. His involvement in organized medicine began in the 1970s, when California physicians faced a medical liability crisis. Dr. Plested joined with physicians statewide in seeking a solution. The result was passage in 1975 of California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, which has become the national model for medical liability reform.

Click here to download highlights from AMA’s annual meeting, including resolutions introduced by the California delegation.

Contact: Ginnie Yee, 415/882-5170 or gyee@cmanet.org.