Physicians' group apologizes to black doctors

"If you couldn't get on the county medical society, you couldn't get hospital privileges," he said.

Adams said the AMA also refused to oppose the construction of segregated hospitals funded by the federal government.

Davis called such incidents "pieces of history that have come to light as a result of the work of the independent writing team which the AMA established and supported."

REGRET AND EMBARRASSMENT

Davis said the AMA has "a feeling of profound regret and embarrassment for what has been uncovered. That is why we are issuing this apology, but also because we believe that by confronting our past we can build a better future."

Adams said the AMA's discriminatory policies have hurt health care for blacks. "In the vast majority of the leading causes of death, black folk are still at the top of the heap," he said.

Blacks in the United States have a 25 percent higher rate for all cancers; a 30 percent higher rate of heart disease, a 40 percent higher rate of stroke and a 50 percent higher rate of diabetes, Adams said.

Several studies have shown that even when blacks have the same income, insurance and education as whites, they do not fare as well when it comes to getting medical care.

"When AMA doesn't get on board with these things, it impacts all of us. It certainly impacts the black community disproportionately," Adams said.