AMGA History
AMGA (American Medical Group Association) was born out of the desire for physicians practicing in groups to improve the quality of patient care by sharing best practices, experiences, and strategies with their peers. Over the years, AMGA has become the primary advocate of group practice, promoting multispecialty medical groups and other organized systems of care as the preferred delivery system for coordinated, patient-centered, efficient, quality medical care in America.
AMGA began in 1950 as the American Association of Medical Clinics (AAMC). The Certificate of Incorporation of AAMC, filed with the Recorder of Deeds of the District of Columbia on May 1, 1950, listed five principle reasons for founding the AAMC:
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To gain recognition for graduate medical education in group practices
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To elevate standards of practice in medical clinics
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To promote medical research in clinics
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To give mutual help among clinics by interchange of ideas and experience
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To disseminate scientific and medical knowledge, particularly pertaining to group practice
From the beginning AAMC lived up to these lofty goals. Through meetings, resources, publications and advocacy, the organization pursued these goals and increased membership rapidly. To this day, membership continues to grow.
The association was renamed in 1974 to the American Group Practice Association, and in 1996 merged with the Unified Medical Group Association to form the American Medical Group Association (AMGA).
Over the years the AMGA family has grown significantly with the formation of its Foundation in 1966, Analytics, LLC in 2001, and Consulting in 2015.
In 2016, we rebranded as AMGA adding the tagline “Advancing High Performing Health,” to better reflect the changes in the organization and its members, as well as align AMGA and its divisions around a unified, forward-looking mission.
Today, AMGA still is leading the transformation of health care in America because we believe in the power of healthier communities. By working alongside top professionals in our field and acting as their voice in the public sphere, we’re paving the way for medical groups and integrated systems of care to deliver the next level of high-performance health.