A legacy of medical excellence.

African American physicians have been a vital element of our nation's medical care. As early as 1893, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams successfully performed the first open-heart surgery and founded Chicago's Provident Hospital, America's first interracial medical facility. Another pioneer, Dr. Charles R. Drew, revolutionized the world of medicine by storing blood plasma and heading the American Red Cross blood bank, which became critical in aiding Allied Forces during World War II.

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The legacy of these pioneers was carried forward by the last generation of great physicians, a group that includes Dr. LaSalle Leffall Jr., a student of Drew's who became known as one of the nation's best surgeons; Dr. Clive O. Callender, one of the first black physicians to participate in liver and kidney transplants; Dr. Levi Watkins, a top cardiologist who performed the first human implant of an automatic implantable defibrillator; and Dr. Harold P. Freeman, a leading cancer surgeon. These physicians--and many like them--have taught, mentored, and inspired the current era of top doctors, including leading neurosurgeons Dr. Benjamin S. Carson and Dr. Keith Black, cardiologists Dr. Christopher J.W.B. Leggett and Dr. Jennifer Mieres, obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Yvonne Thornton, and pediatrician Dr. Kevin Johnson.

This progression of medical excellence is one of the key reasons we revisited our list of America's Leading Doctors. Our current roster represents the third time in the last 20 years that we have identified the best and brightest in the medical profession (BE produced similar listings in 1988 and 2001). This time, our editorial research team, coordinated by Executive Editor Derek T. Dingle. Consumer Affairs Editor Sheiresa McRae, and Administrative Assistant Hyacinth B. Carbon, spent more than six months consulting top medical schools and organizations such as the National Medical Association, American Medical Association, American Cancer Society, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We also placed a special emphasis on identifying innovators who have produced medical breakthroughs, engaged in groundbreaking procedures, and spearheaded radical research across specialties.

We developed our cover package at a time when Americans are dealing with a slew of health issues. Some are a result of the nation's growing obesity problem, and others have developed with the aging of baby boomers. As for African Americans, we continue to contend with the ever-widening healthcare chasm. Contributing factors include failure to get regular medical checkups, lack of access to services, and the alarmingly high cost of healthcare. But studies also reveal that overt racism and unconscious bias influence the way doctors treat their African American patients, who consequently experience a lower quality of care. For example, minorities are less likely to be given appropriate heart medications and more likely to receive undesirable procedures such as lower limb amputations for diabetic conditions and other diseases.

Meanwhile, the proportion of the nation's black doctors has remained stagnant. African Americans make up 13.4% of the total U.S. population but constitute only 5.6% of all U.S. physicians and surgeons-44,900 out of 888,000 doctors. Even fewer black doctors are in positions of power and prestige: Just under a dozen serve as chairs of departments at the nation's medical schools. Asserts Dr. Steven Stain, president of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons and chair of the department of surgery at Albany Medical Center: "Our group is trying to reverse this and train residents and junior faculty on how to get promoted and elected for such positions where they have authority over hiring and training the next generation of doctors."

Officials from the NMA, which represents more than 30,000 black physicians, argue that closing the gap also requires the inclusion of minority patients and physicians in clinical trials. "Increasing their presence is significant, because it impacts the quality of medical care provided to our racially and ethnically diverse patient population," Dr. Albert Morris, NMA's immediate past president, said in a press release.

We believe that this list exposing the black medical elite, as well as our ongoing health coverage, improves our readers' quality of life and helps them maneuver through the medical system--our way of helping close the health gap.

--The Editors