Frank McDonald Jr., M.D., MBA, was sworn into office as the president of the Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) during a ceremony that took place during the organization’s 163rd House of Delegates (HOD) meeting in Savannah on October 21.
“I am truly honored and excited to be given the opportunity to serve my patients, my profession, and my community,” says Dr. McDonald, who is a board-certified neurologist and the chair of operations and the Management Board at the Longstreet Clinic in Gainesville. “We face some significant challenges as a profession, but I also believe that Georgians continue to have access to some of the best medical care in the world.”
Dr. McDonald pledges that during his one-year term as president, “I will work with my fellow physicians and key stakeholders – including hospitals, insurers, and legislators – to reform our health care system in important ways, including stabilizing the insurance market, reducing the heavy administrative burden that has been placed on physicians so they can focus on patient care, and ensuring that Georgians have access to the care they need.”
He says that areas of emphasis will include addressing increasingly-narrow health insurance networks, the adequacy of the health insurance products that are available in the state, unreasonable “third party payer-driven EHR metrics,” the Medicaid program, and patient safety issues – including opioid abuse and distracted driving.
He adds that, “As MAG’s president, I believe that I also have an obligation to help patients and physicians in the state navigate what have become the treacherous waters of the health care third party payer and insurance system.”
Finally, Dr. McDonald stresses that, “MAG will not deviate from its efforts to ensure that every patient in this state has access to the highest quality health care across geographic settings and specialties.”
Dr. McDonald served as the speaker of MAG’s HOD for the last two years. He is a graduate of the MAG Foundation’s Georgia Physicians Leadership Academy. Dr. McDonald recently completed a term as the president of the Georgia Neurological Society, and he still serves on its Board of Directors.
Dr. McDonald received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical School, and he completed his residency and fellowship at University Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.
Dr. McDonald lives in Gainesville with his wife, Shantha, and their daughter, Asha.
With nearly 8,000 members, MAG is the leading voice for physicians in Georgia. MAG represents physicians in every specialty and practice setting. MAG’s membership has increased by more than 35 percent since 2010. Go to www.mag.org for additional information on MAG.
