Division of Social Medicine and Professionalism

Stack of books

History

In 2018, the Division of Social Medicine & Professionalism was created through the merging of the Institute on Medicine as a Profession (IMAP) and the Center on Medicine as a Profession (CMAP). Since 2003, IMAP had been analyzing and promoting medical professionalism as a field of study and a force for change. It has conducted and supported research in topics including:

  • The influence of the pharmaceutical industry on physicians' prescribing patterns
  • The political campaign contribution behavior of physicians according to specialty
  • The involvement of physicians in human torture and the death penalty
  • The role of state governments in shaping U.S. clinical practice patterns
  • Analyses of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act's impact on Conflict of Interest

Mission

The Division of Social Medicine & Professionalism is dedicated to:

  • Promoting advocacy on behalf of not only individual patient health, but also population health among medical professionals
  • Analyzing the implications of the extraordinary changes in the delivery of health care on medical professionalism
  • Investigating the impact of "disruptive technologies" on medical practice and professionalism
  • Analyzing the impact of the entrance of investors on the practice of medicine