Richard A. Smith

Richard A. Smith (1932–2017) was an American physician who was part of the five-person team composing the Surgeon General's Office of Equal Health Opportunity (OEHO), which was charged with desegregating US hospitals in the mid-1960s. Smith developed one of the first Physician Assistant (PA) training programs in the US, MEDEX, and later founded MEDEX International.

Early life and education Smith obtained a BS and an MD from Howard University in 1953 and 1957, respectively. He completed his residency in public health and preventive medicine at the University of Washington. He received a Rockefeller Public Service Award in 1981 "for developing new methods of health care" and a Retired Commissioned Officers Recognition Award from the US Public Health Service in 1999.

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