About Us
LACMA: Physicians For Quality Healthcare in L.A. County
Since 1871, LACMA has been at the forefront of medicine in L.A. County, ensuring that our members are represented in the areas of public policy, government relations and community relations. Through our advocacy efforts in both Los Angeles County and with the statewide California Medical Association (CMA), our physician leaders and staff strive toward a common vision – that you might spend more time treating your patients and less time navigating the obstacles that threaten your autonomy and undermine your practice of medicine.
LACMA and CMA will continue to resolve the healthcare challenges of today, as well as the healthcare and healthcare delivery problems of tomorrow. LACMA and CMA physicians share a unified voice that strives to educate and promote a greater understanding of the “care” in healthcare, the needs and political pressures in healthcare delivery, and the preservation of a sacrosanct doctor-patient relationship. LACMA and CMA’s solemn duty is to preserve and protect the noble pursuit of healthcare delivery for physicians.
Vision
The L.A. County Medical Association will be the premier organization that all L.A. County physicians look to for their professional needs, that the healthcare community respects, and that the public trusts.
Mission
LACMA is an organization of dedicated physicians who advocate quality healthcare for all patients and serve the professional needs of its members.
Values
Perseverance ~ Integrity ~ Excellence
The Los Angeles County Medical Association’s Past Presidents
Enduring Change, Pursuing Excellence
The LACMA Story
The story of the Los Angeles County Medical Association began on a quiet Tuesday evening – January 31, 1871 – when a group of seven dedicated physicians gathered in the offices of two colleagues. United by a common commitment to their profession, their patients and their growing community, these founders set out standards of professional excellence that, even to this day, define what it means to practice medicine in Los Angeles County.
In the preamble to the Association’s Constitution, the founders wrote: “This association is devoted to the development of the science and art of medicine, the conservation and protection of public health, and the betterment of the medical profession.” As Los Angeles grew, so did LACMA. In its first 30 years, the Association’s member physicians were instrumental in establishing Los Angeles’s first hospitals and clinics, and in founding the medical school at the University of Southern California.
Since World War II, LACMA has remained at the forefront of healthcare, especially on issues related to the area’s postwar population boom and changing culture and values. Air and water pollution, cardiac and pulmonary disease, cancer and HIV represent just a handful of public health issues that LACMA members have been aggressively committed to fighting.
Today, while LACMA members are more committed than ever to curing disease and caring for patients, new challenges have emerged. The advent of managed care, escalating healthcare costs, rampant mal practice lawsuits and diminished access to care for patients have dramatically altered the playing field.
Today, more than ever, physician autonomy is being undermined, and more involvement is needed. As in LACMA’s early days, the Association continues to recognize and respect the physician’s strong individualism while striving to define a powerful, unified voice for protecting physician and patient rights. Only through the sustained engagement of dedicated area physicians, residents and medical students can LACMA continue to uphold the original vision.