FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 15, 2025
Contact: Kate Alfano, Director of Communications, Colorado Medical Society
Phone: 720-859-1001
Email: kate_alfano@cms.org

Denver, Colo. – The Colorado Medical Society is proud to launch Your Care is at our Core, a new communications and advocacy strategy, in partnership with the American Medical Association (AMA). The goal of the campaign is to strengthen the bond between patients and their physicians, the foundation of health care.

Over the past few years, there have been shifts in health care that have challenged both patients and physicians, ignited by the COVID-19 pandemic and the prevalence of mis- and disinformation. These factors have distracted from what matters most – the connection between Colorado’s physicians and their patients.

“I knew very early on that I wanted to be a physician, and then it became clear I was meant to care for girls and women,” said CMS President Kim Warner, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist with Colorado Permanente Medical Group in Denver. “It was my calling, my mission and my duty: to be a part of deliveries and support women through every stage of their lives.”

She continued: “The patient-physician relationship is the heart of medicine. That is where trust is built and healing begins. Too many of my colleagues spend time on the unnecessary administrative burdens of health care rather than providing health care to their patients. We can work together to protect the patient-physician relationship so physicians can do what we do best – listen, care, and heal.”

“Physicians are called to medicine to heal, to serve, and to advocate for their patients,” said AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD. “Yet increasingly, the bureaucratic red tape of health care is taking physicians away from their patients. Ensuring physicians have the time to give both personal and physical attention to those that they treat is essential for building a stronger health care system – one that supports our current and future physicians, empowers our patients, and bolsters the health of our communities.”

The data illustrate this: 89% of patients agree that the doctor-patient relationship is central to health care, and 79% of patients agree that red tape bureaucracy makes it harder for physicians to provide the best care to patients.[1]

Often, decisions made by third parties like insurance companies, pharmacy benefit managers, hospitals, and others in health care can dramatically limit the time physicians can spend with their patients – and the treatments physicians can provide to heal and bring comfort to their patients. Health care can be an especially vulnerable space for patients, and establishing a meaningful patient-physician relationship is necessary to build trust and provide the most effective care and treatment.

As the campaign continues, the Colorado Medical Society will continue to release stories to exemplify the patient-physician relationship, the heart of health care. Read one example here. We will be available to provide patient stories and interviews upon request to support compelling and accurate coverage on the patient-physician relationship.

Physicians are fighting alongside their patients for less bureaucracy and more time. We will continue to amplify these efforts through Your Care is at our Core.

About the Colorado Medical Society

The Colorado Medical Society champions health care issues that improve patient care; promotes physician professional satisfaction; serves as a place of inclusion and belonging for all Colorado physicians, residents and medical students; and creates healthier communities in Colorado. To learn more about CMS, visit www.cms.org.

About the American Medical Association

The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises, and driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.

[1] Results from a National Online Survey of 1,000 voters conducted March 8-10, 2023 on behalf of the AMA.