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( American Medical Association)
The American Medical Association (AMA), founded in 1847 and incorporated 1897,[1] is the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States. While its membership has declined in recent years, it claims approximately 20% of practicing physicians as members.[2] The AMA's stated mission is to promote the art and science of medicine for the betterment of the public health, to advance the interests of physicians and their patients, to promote public health, to lobby for legislation favorable to physicians and patients, and to raise money for medical education. The Association also publishes the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which has the largest circulation of any weekly medical journal in the world.[3] The AMA also publishes a list of Physician Specialty Codes which are a standard method in the U.S. for identifying physician and practice specialties. Ronald M. Davis MD finished his term as President on June 17, 2008 at which time Nancy H Nielsen MD, PhD was sworn in as the Association's 163rd President.[4] The AMA publishes Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. The AMA forms the American Medical Political Action Committee (AMPAC) a special interest group, the Resident Physicians Section, and the Medical Student Section. Throughout its history, the AMA has been actively involved in a variety of medical policy issues, from Medicare and HMOs to public health, and climate change. Physician membership in the group is thought to have decreased to 20% of practicing physicians. In 2004, the AMA reported membership totals of 244,569, which included retired and practicing physicians along with medical students, residents, and fellows. The medical school section (MSS) reported totals of 48,868 members, while the resident and fellow section (RFS) reported 24,069 members. Combined they account for almost 30% of AMA members. [6] If every other member of the AMA was a fully qualified practicing physician then the AMA would represent 19% of America's practicing physicians (There are currently approximately 900,000 practicing physicians in America). However, MedPage Today estimates that the AMA only represents 135,300 "real, practicing physicians" as of 2005 (15.0% of the United States practicing physicians). [7] When asked about this, Jeremy Lazarus, MD, a speaker in the AMA House of Delegates, stated that membership was stable, avoiding commenting on the low overall numbers (2005 AMSA annual meeting, AMA vs. PNHP healthcare debate, Arlington, Virginia). This has been seen as a major reason why physicians, on the whole, are less successful in lobbying for their positions than other professional and paraprofessional societies.
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