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Comment by devenson | Hacker News Reader

I believe the AMA is responsible for accreditation of medical schools. Without accreditation, they can't make doctors, thus the AMA controls the supply of doctors.

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^ Yeah that's directionally accurate. The AMA is one of the two funders of LCME, the accrediting agency of medical schools for MDs (outside of the med school trade association itself). While they do not run medical schools, they have enormous power over training standards, who should be a physician, how medicine should be practiced, and who shouldn't practice. As an example, they lobby pretty regularly against the expansion of the role of RNs/NPs (https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-statements/ama-sta...). Much of this derives originally from the Flexner Report which created the current system of US medical education, which is still based on old sensibilities that physicians should be professional gentlemen and "proper" (and perhaps fueled by cocaine -- no seriously, google "halstead cocaine").

I am not a physician, but I have been in the guts of healthcare for quite a while, and the AMA continues to pop up as the man behind the curtain surprisingly often.

They're all connected in some capacity, but AMA does not accredit medical schools.

* LCME accredits M.D. Schools

* D.O. Schools have their own accreditation (not sure what it is)

* AAMC runs the racket of "MATCH" to appoint graduating medical students to programs (and strip most of their rights as employees).

* ACGME accredits Residency Programs.

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