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Ronnie Martin, DO, isn't into glowing introductions.

Instead, the President of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) likes the simple approach.

"How do I want to be introduced? Just that I've been an osteopathic family physician for the last 30 years," said Martin to the LECOM Bradenton chapter of ACOFP. "This career has allowed me to be there when life starts, and it's just as significant to be there at the end of life."

ACOFP President Ronnie Martin, DO, addresses LECOM Bradenton osteopathic medical students.

Dr. Martin encouraged the medical students to be advocates for their future patients.

“It’s not about the health-care system, it’s about the patient,” he said. “You will be in a dynamic position to improve the lives of people. The emotional and psychological returns you get from that are greater than the financial returns.”

Dr. Martin also introduced students to the Medical Home concept. Medical Home aims to provide a more effective way to deliver care to patients, and to maximize the efficiency of the system.

If every American had a Medical Home, the cost of health care would drop 5 percent to 6 percent, resulting in savings of over $67 billion a year. The American Osteopathic Association (AOA), ACOFP, as well as many other physician organizations, are involved with the planning and execution of the Medical Home.

“The United States is 37th in the world in health care,” Dr. Martin said. “Our current health-care system was designed in 1963. It rewards volume, not quality. It rewards institutions, not individuals. We are working toward changing that.”

A board-certified family physician, Dr. Martin is a 1974 graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma University College of Pharmacy and a 1979 graduate of the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery.