Medical Interest Group Analysis

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An interest group is an “organized group of individuals sharing common objectives who actively attempt to influence policymakers” (Bardes, Shelly, Schmidt, Gerston, & Christensen, 2007, p. 221). Sharing many goals with the prominent, well-known American Medical Association (AMA), the American College of Physicians (ACP) is a similar interest group that cares the most for the health of the adults in society. ACP is an altruistic organization because of its extensive history of success in using lobbyists to influence legislators to pass laws for the benefit of the public.
Viewed as a national organization, ACP is composed of professionals who employ “scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care”
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Founded in 1915 by Dr. Heinrich Stern, ACP’s primary goal is to advocate the science and practice of medicine (Celebrating 100 years, 2015). In order to fulfill the above, the organization plans to establish and encourage the highest clinical standards and moral ideals that a workplace can achieve without ever being criticized (Mission and goals, 2004). It also strives to become the number one source for internists to rely on for information about the most updated and comprehensive medical knowledge (Celebrating 100 years, 2015). By endorsing members of Congress to vote and pass bills in favor individual health, the interest group wishes for the well-being of the public, their patients, and physicians while attracting society to the field of internal medicine. 42 years later after the American Society of Internal Medicine was established to study the economic aspects of medicine, it merged with ACP, adopting the name of ACP-ASIM (Celebrating 100 years, 2015). Later in 2003, the organization changed its name to ACP with a new logo promoting “Internal …show more content…
41). As one of the bill’s proponent, ACP has donated $7,800 to Sen. León, a member of the Senate Committee on Health and another $28,700 to other members of Congress, adding up to a total of $111,600 as a result of other expenses (Institute Staff, 2013). Although the bill made it through the legislative process, it was eventually vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown. Since ACP has been effectively influencing policymakers, the group has also influenced countless healthcare bills and related issues in the recent past. Several of these bills include the Affordable Care Act, the Ensuring Access to Primary Care for Women & Children Act, the Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act, the Training Tomorrow’s Doctors Today Act, the Creating Access to Residency Education Act of 2015 (CARE Act), the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2015, the Primary Care Workforce Access and Improvement Act of 2013, the Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2014, the Medicare SGR Repeal and Beneficiary Access Improvement Act, the Personalize Your Care Act of 2013, the Medicare Advantage Participant Bill of Rights Act of 2014, the Medicare SGR Repeal and Beneficiary Access Improvement