The National Physicians Alliance (NPA) was a 501(c)(3) national, multi-specialty medical organization founded in 2005. The organization's mission statement was: "The National Physicians Alliance creates research and education programs that promote health and foster active engagement of physicians with their communities to achieve high quality, affordable health care for all. The NPA offers a professional home to physicians across medical specialties who share a commitment to professional integrity and health justice." In 2019, they merged with Doctors for America.

Goals

The NPA was founded by former leaders of the

American Medical Student Association The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), founded in 1950 and based in Washington, D.C., is an independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. AMSA is a student-governed national organization.They have a membership ...

as an alternative to traditional trade associations that primarily serve the economic interests of physicians rather than advocating first and foremost on behalf of patients and public health. In order to avoid

conflicts of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, finance, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, t ...

, the NPA does not accept funding from

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...

medical device A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

companies. NPA's guiding principles focus on health and wellness, avoiding conflicts of interest that might affect medical decisions, collaborative and team-based care, and addressing social determinants of health. Currently, there are four issues that NPA focuses on: # Integrity and Trust in Medicine # Equitable, Affordable Health Care for All # Patient Safety and Systems Improvement # Civic Engagement Several of NPA's campaigns also focus on gun violence prevention. NPA also conceived and piloted the "Choosing Wisely" concept with a grant from the

ABIM Foundation Choosing Wisely is a United States-based health educational campaign, led by the ABIM Foundation (American Board of Internal Medicine), about unnecessary health care. The campaign identifies over 500 tests and procedures and encourages doctors ...

and the support of

Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Found ...

. The concept encourages patients to choose care that is supported by evidence, not duplicative of other tests or procedures already received, free from harm, and truly necessary. The "Choosing Wisely" Campaign won a "Foremother Award" from the

National Research Center for Women and Families The National Center for Health Research (formerly known as the National Research Center for Women & Families) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization founded in 1999, providing health-related services such as providing free information ...

. Their "Good Stewardship" campaign on eliminating the top 5 unnecessary medical treatments led to an articles in the

Journal of the American Medical Association ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of b ...

Organization and membership

A 501c(3) organization based in

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the NPA had a membership of approximately 20,000 physicians. Members must have graduated with an M.D. or

D.O. Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licens ...

degree from a professional school accredited by the

LCME The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada.''Glossary.'' ACGME website. The LCME is sponsored by the Association of American Medical C ...

or the AOA's

COCA Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, ...

; or hold a license to practice medicine within the United States. The last president of the NPA was

Manan Trivedi Manan Trivedi (born May 22, 1974) is an American physician, politician, Iraq War veteran and perennial candidate. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for in the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections, ...

, M.D. The former Executive Director was Jean Silver-Isenstadt, MD, PhD. Dr. Silver-Isenstadt served on the

Pew Charitable Trusts The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), founded in 1948. With over 6 billion in assets, its stated mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, a ...

"Expert Task Force on Conflicts of Interest in Medicine." The last NPA Senior Policy Advisor was Valerie Arkoosh, who appeared on All In with Chris Hayes to talk about the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...

References

{{authority control Medical associations based in the United States Healthcare reform advocacy groups in the United States Medical and health organizations based in Washington, D.C. 2005 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 2005

Goals

Organization and membership

See also

References