State’s largest physician organization launches Patient Advocacy and Education Campaign

The Missouri State Medical Association (MSMA) announces Your Care is at Our Core, a statewide patient advocacy and education campaign to restore and protect the physician-patient relationship, which is the foundation of health care in Missouri. The campaign is in partnership with the American Medical Association (AMA) and more than half the states in the nation.

“Missouri physicians believe the heart of medicine is the relationship between physician and patient,” said MSMA President Brian Biggers, MD, a breast surgical oncologist and general surgeon with CoxHealth in Springfield. “Care begins not with paperwork, but with trust, compassion, and time spent face-to-face.”

Missouri’s physicians, in all medical specialties and in all 114 counties, are facing administrative overload, prior authorization delays, and third-party interference. They are increasingly constrained by decisions made by insurance companies, pharmacy benefit managers, and other bureaucratic interventions.  This limits not only the time physicians can spend with patients, but also the treatments they can offer. These systemic barriers threaten the integrity of care, and the trust patients place in their doctors.

The focus is being pulled away from what matters most—compassionate, evidence-based care delivered by trusted physicians. Recent data from the AMA underscores the urgency of reform: 89% of patients agree that the doctor-patient relationship is central to health care and 79% say bureaucracy makes it harder for physicians to provide the best care.

“Missouri physicians are leading the charge against the bureaucracy that stands between us and our patients. These barriers are eroding the very foundation of care,” said Dr. Biggers. “Your Care is at Our Core isn’t just a slogan—it’s a call to action. We are standing with physicians nationwide and the AMA to restore the time, autonomy, and respect that every patient and physician deserves.”

The Your Care is At Our Core campaign aims to amplify physician voices across Missouri, engage patients in advocacy, and call on lawmakers to prioritize reforms that protect physician-led, patient-centered care.