Top medical journal editor placed on leave after podcast on structural racism in health care causes uproar

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The top editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) was placed on leave Thursday after backlash to remarks denying structural racism exists in the U.S. health care system.

The American Medical Association’s Journal Oversight Committee announced that JAMA editor-in-chief Dr. Howard Bauchner was placed on leave following a probe of the controversial remarks made by a colleague on the JAMA Network podcast, followed by a tweet used to promote the podcast.

The top editor of a JAMA, a highly respected medical journal, was placed on leave Thursday. (iStock)

The saga began on a Feb. 24 podcast "Structural Racism for Doctors - What Is it?," when a different JAMA editor, who is White, said "structural racism is an unfortunate term" and went on to elaborate his viewpoint.

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"Personally, I think taking racism out of the conversation will help. Many people like myself are offended by the implication that we are somehow racist," deputy editor Dr. Ed Livingston said on the podcast.

JAMA then promoted the podcast on social media by writing, "No physician is racist, so how can there be structural racism in health care?"

The tweet brought attention to the podcast, which caused immediate backlash. Dr. Bauchner deleted it, removed the podcast, and issued the following statement:

"Comments made in the podcast were inaccurate, offensive, hurtful, and inconsistent with the standards of JAMA. Racism and structural racism exist in the US and in health care. After careful consideration, I determined that the harms caused by the podcast outweighed any reason for the podcast to remain available on the JAMA Network," Bauchner wrote.

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"I once again apologize for the harms caused by this podcast and the tweet about the podcast," Bauchner continued. "We are instituting changes that will address and prevent such failures from happening again."

Dr. Livingston later resigned, according to The New York Times.

However, the backlash didn’t stop and a Change.org petition was created asking JAMA to "stop perpetuating racism in medicine."

The petition has nearly 7,000 signatures as of Friday afternoon. It called for a "formal review of the leadership displayed by Dr. Howard Bauchner as editor-in-chief, including actions suggesting a failure to diversify the editorial staff and/or displaying blatantly discriminatory behavior patterns."

Dr. Bauchner has been put on leave and replaced by Dr. Phil Fontanarosa, who will serve as interim editor.

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"The decision to place the editor-in-chief on administrative leave neither implicates nor exonerates individuals and is standard operating procedure for such investigations," American Medical Association’s Journal Oversight Committee told Fox News.  

"Accordingly, the JOC initiated an investigation into how the podcast and associated tweet were developed, reviewed, and ultimately published," the statement continued. "The JOC has engaged independent outside investigators from the Zuber Lawler firm to ensure objectivity and the integrity of the investigation."

Dr. Bauchner could not immediately be reached for comment.