The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional organization for physicians in the United States. It was founded in 1847 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The AMA represents nearly all types of physicians, including specialists and primary care physicians, and has more than 250,000 members.
The AMA's mission is to "promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health." To that end, the organization engages in a wide range of activities, including:
The AMA has a number of subsidiary organizations, including the AMA Foundation (a philanthropic organization), the AMA Political Action Committee (which supports candidates for political office who are supportive of the AMA's goals), and the AMA Insurance Agency (which offers insurance products to AMA members).
The AMA also plays a major role in developing and promoting the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes which are widely used across the USA for billing of medical procedures, AMA develop and publish the codes in order to provide uniformity and consistency to the coding process.