Fighting invisible barriers to equitable health care. Interview by Patrick Mullen.

Last August, Rodney G. Hood, M.D., was installed as the 101st president of the National Medical Association, which represents more than 25,000 African-American physicians. As president, he will focus on eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities, particularly in the areas of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus, and HIV/AIDS. A board-certified internist, Hood has been in private medical practice for more than 20 years and is currently managing partner of Care-View Medical Group in San Diego. He cofounded and is president of MultiCultural Primary Physician Medical Group, a 300-physician IPA, and founded CompCare, a 7,000-enrollee Medicaid health plan. In 1973, Hood…