AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
The American Medical Association (AMA) is a federation of state and territorial medical associations. The AMA seeks to promote the art and science of medicine, the medical profession, and the betterment of public health. Its purposes include obtaining, synthesizing, integrating, and disseminating information about health and medical practice; setting standards for medical ethics, practice, and education; and being an
influential advocate for physicians and their patients.
The AMA was founded in 1847. At its organizing convention, the AMA adopted the first
code of ethics in the United States, a detailed document that addressed the obligations of
physicians to patients and to each other and the duties of the profession to the public at large.
The delegates also adopted the first national
standards for medical education through a resolution
establishing prerequisites for the study of
medicine. Since that time, the AMA has grown
into a large organization, with great influence
over issues involving HEALTH CARE and medicine.
Its headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois.
The AMA speaks out on issues important to the medical community. AMA policy on such
issues is decided through a democratic process, at the center of which is the AMA House of Delegates.
The house is comprised of physician delegates
from every state, the national medical
specialty societies, the SURGEON GENERAL of the
United States, and sections representing organized
medical staffs, young physicians, resident
physicians, medical students, and medical
schools.
Before the opening of the House of Delegates,
which meets twice a year, individual committees
consider resolutions and reports in
hearings open to all AMA members. Each
committee prepares recommendations for the
delegates. The house then votes on these recommendations,
deciding the AMA’s formal position
and future action on an issue.
The AMA has been active in numerous
healthcare initiatives that affect the U.S. populace
as a whole. In the 1990s the AMA launched
a campaign against family violence and violence
in schools and called on tobacco companies to
refrain from engaging in advertising practices
that target children. The AMA also launched a
national campaign against so-called “drivethrough”
baby deliveries that ended with the
passing of legislation requiring insurance companies
to provide appropriate hospitalization
and maternity stays. In 2000 the AMA
announced the first stage of its health literacy
campaign that was aimed at increasing patient
comprehension of basic healthcare communications
such as prescription instructions and
insurance forms. The AMA also began an initiative
to reduce under-age drinking.
The AMA opposed the creation of MEDICARE
in the 1960s and in the early 2000s has remained
opposed to national healthcare insurance. It has
sought, however, to extend access to the healthcare
system and to contain its costs while
improving its quality. The AMA has maintained
the position that the problems of rising healthcare
costs are due to the costs of MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
suits and has vigorously supported
medical liability reform legislation.
The AMA is the world’s largest publisher of
scientific medical information. The Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA) is printed
in 12 languages and reaches physicians in 42
countries worldwide, making it the world’s most
widely read medical journal. The AMA also publishes
nine monthly medical specialty journals as
well as a newspaper of social and economic
health news, American Medical News.
FURTHER READINGS
American Medical Association. Available online at
(accessed May 30, 2003).
Rosenberg, Charles E. 1989. In the Care of Strangers: The Rise
of America’s Hospital System. New York: Basic Books.
Starr, Paul. 1984. Social Transformation of American Medicine.
New York: Basic Books.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Health Care Law; Medicare.
