Kanter Prize

The Kanter Prize was established by The Health Legacy Partnership, a public-private partnership between the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) and the Joseph H. Kanter Family Foundation.  The Kanter Prize is awarded to a community physician practicing in the United States whose efforts best serve to minimize disparities in health care delivery.  Disparities include any inequality in health care delivery due to ethnicity, socio-economic status, beliefs, language, bias, geographic constraints, etc.  We understand certain differences will always exist, however when these differences result in health care disparities, remedies should be sought.



With this award, we hope to discover innovative ideas and promote their broader usage. The Kanter Prize establishes an overdue national platform to recognize innovative and dedicated physicians, and elevate them to the distinguished ranks of comparable professional prize winners.  To accomplish this we are inviting each state medical association, DO and MD, to nominate one physician from its state or territory who they believe has developed a method to enhance the delivery of health care by minimizing healthcare disparities.  More comprehensive information on the nomination process and selection procedure and a nomination form are available for download here. 
 Our goal is to equalize the delivery of quality health care and to improve health outcomes where there is scientific evidence of effectiveness and professional consensus.  Translating our goals to real life will undoubtedly lead to a variety of interpretations, opening nominations to a diversity of innovations and providing a wider field from which to choose our winner.  Nominee possibilities are unlimited and include licensed practicing physicians who have for example, introduced a successful method to enhance respect for patients’ dignity and their healthcare choices, or improved access and efficiency in healthcare delivery.



By awarding the Kanter Prize, we will stimulate the creativity we know exists among the physicians of this nation to improve the delivery of quality health care.  This concept is deserving of our best effort, since the achievement of the Kanter Prize recipients will exemplify healthcare values and compassion and inspire the next generation of physicians.  We look forward to receiving your nomination. Nominations are due by Friday, April 30th 2010.