The AMA: A 160-year commitment to quality care

AMA Leader Commentary. By William G. Plested III, MD, May 21, 2007.

AMA LEADER COMMENTARY

A few words about current events in medical practice

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A message to all physicians from AMA President William G. Plested III, MD.

The ongoing obsession with the cost of medical care has spawned some interesting proposals about controlling physician behavior about which I have been outspoken. The most common excuse for these schemes is that the quality of medical care is so poor that they are necessary. It is now openly stated that physicians and the AMA really don't care about quality.

It therefore is time for some straight talk about the ongoing commitment to quality of physicians in general and the AMA in particular.

When a youngster makes a decision to pursue a career as a physician, he or she quickly learns that this decision means a lifelong commitment to the pursuit of quality in everything that they do. That continues and intensifies through medical school, years of residency, and a life of practice and continuing education.

I have never met a physician who does not try to give each and every one of his or her patients the very best that he or she has to offer. Do physicians care about quality? Every waking moment, thank you very much.

So what about the AMA's commitment to quality?

The AMA was founded in Philadelphia in 1847. The agenda that first year included the appointment of a committee on medical education. It set the first-ever educational standards for the teaching of medicine in the United States.

The other initial undertaking of the new association was the establishment and publication of a code of medical ethics. That code has undergone constant updating and revision and today stands as the most respected in the world.