American Medical Association history

At the organization's second meeting in 1849, Thomas Wood suggested a committee on medical science to establish a board to analyze quack remedies and nostrums to be published in order to inform the public about the dangers of such remedies.

Doctor Henry I. Bowditch, the twenty-ninth president of the AMA, founded the Massachusetts State Board of Health in 1859— the first agency of its kind in the United States.

One-third of Chicago lay in ashes in the wake of the Great Fire of 1871, but it was rebuilt in record speed during the onset of an economic depression.

In 1872, Bowditch was instrumental in starting the American Public Health Association (APHA).

1873: AMA Judicial Council founded to deal with medical ethical and constitutional controversies.

In 1882 the AMA founded its Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The Journal promoted the AMA’s views, and set itself high journalistic standards.

1883: Journal of the American Medical Association is first published; Nathan Davis is first editor.

In 1897, the AMA was incorporated in the state of Illinois.

AMA pushed for laws requiring compulsory smallpox vaccinations in 1899.

The association adopted a new structure in 1901.

In 1902 the AMA adopted official permanent headquarters in Chicago.

AMA created the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry in 1905 to set standards for drug manufacturing and advertising.

The AMA's attempts to expose quack remedies aided the passage of the first Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.

The AMA established the Council for the Defense of Medical Research in 1908.

1910: The Flexner Report, Medical Education in the United States and Canada, funded by the Carnegie Foundation and supported by the AMA, is published and facilitates new standards for medical schools

AMA's Council on Medical Education and Hospitals first published its annual list of hospitals approved for internships in 1914.

The AMA established a policy of opposition to compulsory health insurance by state or federal government in 1920.

In May 1922, the Woman's Auxiliary to the AMA was organized.

1923: AMA promotes periodic examination of healthy persons

The AMA later published its first list of hospitals approved for residency training in 1927.

The AMA had formed a Bureau of Medical Economics in 1931, which spoke out against any insurance plans that might change the way doctors were compensated.

For instance the AMA approved the administration’s plan to have the government pay for medical care for federal employees under the Civil Works Administration, enacted in 1933.

The 1935 Social Security Act passed without compulsory health insurance due to AMA influence.

In 1936 the AMA began offering its Seal of Acceptance to food manufacturers who passed standards of safety and hygiene and who did not advertise unproved benefits of their products.

The Normal Diet, a comprehensive listing of what Americans should be eating, was published by the AMA in 1938.

A formal partnership between the AMA and the Association of American Medical Colleges formed the Liaison Committee on Medical Education in 1942 in order to establish requirements for certification of medical schools.

The AMA continued to fight government involvement in health care with a campaign against President Truman's initiatives in 1948.

The AMA began levying dues from its members for the first time in 1949, which gave the organization ready cash to pay for publicity.

1950: AMA Education and Research Foundation established to help medical schools meet expenses and to help medical students.

In 1951, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals was created through merging the Hospital Standardization Program with quality standards from the American College of Physicians, the American Hospital Association, and the American Medical Association.

The Physicians Advisory Committee on Television, Radio and Motion Pictures was established by the AMA in 1955 in order to maintain medical accuracy in media.

In 1961 the American Medical Political Action Committee (AMPAC) was formed to represent physicians' and patients' interests in health care legislation.

The AMA first published the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding system in 1966.

1967: The United States Adopted Names (USAN) Council is established to determine nonproprietary designations for chemical compounds.

In 1969, AMA proposed the Medicredit program.

The AMA published the first Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment in 1971.

In 1972, the AMA launched a "war on smoking" and supported legislation that would prohibit tobacco sample disbursement.

The following year, in 1973, the AMA urged physicians to combat hypertension through a national program.

By 1974, the AMA was at the point of having to borrow money to meet its payroll.

In 1975, the AMA adopted a policy stating that "discrimination based on sexual orientation is improper and unacceptable by any part of the federation of medicine." It adopted a resolution to repeal all state sodomy laws.

In 1976, the AMA began encouraging all public facilities to have handicap access.

She was the first woman to head the organization and had been part of AMA's leadership since 1977.

Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.

The AMA also began a renewed campaign to curb the harmful effects of alcohol in 1982.

By 1983, the AMA accused the news media of conducting a "witch hunt" against the toxic chemical and launched a public information campaign to counter media hysteria.

1986: AMA passes resolution opposing acts of discrimination against AIDS patients and any legislation that would lead to such categorical discrimination or that would affect patient-physician confidentiality.

A Federal district judge ruled that the AMA had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1987 by depriving chiropractors of access to the Association.

In 1989, the AMA’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs issued a report about the inequitable provision of medical care according to race.

In 1990, AMA published Health Access America, which proposed improved access to affordable health care for citizens without healthcare insurance.

The Journal of the American Medical Association first documented that Joe Camel cartoons reached more children than adults in December 1991.

A 1993 poll by the AMA, at a time when the Clinton administration reform proposals seemed on the verge of becoming law, found that an all-time high of 70 percent of the public was beginning to lose faith in their doctors.

In 1995, Lonnie R. Bristow became the first African-American president of the American Medical Association.

The AMA campaigned against health plan "gag clauses" in 1996, stating that the stipulations inhibit the communication of information and restrict the care doctors can give their patients.

The group also lost money in 1999, ending the year with a loss of $5.4 million.

At a meeting in June 2000, the AMA revealed a new plan, to let doctors pay a one-time fee to join for life.

In 2002, the American Medical Association released a report that found a medical liability insurance crisis in at least a dozen states was forcing physicians to either close practices or limit services.

2005: AMA spearheads effort with 129 other health care and patient groups, which results in the passage and signing of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act.

The American Medical Association launched the "Voice for the Uninsured" campaign in 2007 to promote coverage for uninsured citizens.

The American Medical Association issued a formal apology for previous policies that excluded African-Americans from the organization and announced increased efforts to increase minority physician participation in the AMA in 2008.

In 2009, the American Medical Association released a public letter to the United States Congress and President Barack Obama endorsing his proposed overhaul to the public health care system, including universal health coverage.

The AMA officially recognized obesity as a disease in 2013 in an attempt to change how the medical community approaches the issue.

In 2014, the Association created the AMA Opioid Task Force to evaluate prescription opioid use and abuse.

The American Medical Association supported the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, which introduced Medicare reforms and replaced the SGR formula with increased Medicare physician reimbursement.

The Association announced its opposition to replacing the federal health care law in March 2017, claiming millions of Americans would lose health care coverage.

Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA, a psychiatrist from Atlanta, became the AMA’s 174th president in June 2019, the organization's first African-American woman to hold this position.

M1s starting in 2020 had an unprecedented medical school experience.

Top news stories from AMA Morning Rounds®: Week of May 10, 2021