J. James Rohack, M.D., a senior staff cardiologist at Scott & White Clinic in Temple, Texas, was elected president of the American Medical Association (AMA) in June 2008. Dr. Rohack has been a member of the AMA Board of Trustees (BOT) since 2001 and served as chair from 2004 to 2005. He has also served on all AMA-BOT intraboard committees, chairing both the AMA-BOT Executive Committee and the Organization and Operations Committee. He serves as treasurer of the board of commissioners of the Joint Commission, chairs the National Advisory Council to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and is one of the principals of the Hospital Quality Alliance.
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, the Liaison Committee on Specialty Boards, and 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 on 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 (UTEP) and his MD degree with honors from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston in 1980. He was named the Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus by the UTMB in 2000 and received the distinguished Alumnus Golden Nugget Award from UTEP in 2002.
Dr. Rohack lives on a small ranch near Byran, Texas, that also serves as a wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release facility directed by his wife, Charli. They have one daughter.
