Press Release

New Do No Harm Report Exposes Increasing Politicization of Medical Establishment

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • November 20, 2024

Richmond, VA; November 19, 2024: Medical watchdog Do No Harm released a new report, Outside Their Lane: Mission Creep in Medical Specialty Societies exposing the increasing politicization of medical associations. 

Medical specialty societies, like the American Academy of Pediatrics, are key players in American healthcare and are responsible for developing clinical guidelines and providing continuing medical education. But according to Do No Harm’s report, these organizations routinely participate in political advocacy on topics unrelated to medicine. 

The report tracks the medical societies’ official public stances on hot-button issues including affirmative action/racism, climate change, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, immigration policy, and conflict between Israel and Hamas. Since 2010, 93% of specialty societies published statements on affirmative action or racism, 57% on climate change, 50% on immigration, 39% on Ukraine, and 18% on the ongoing war in the Middle East. 

“The politicization of medical societies represents a betrayal of the public’s trust in healthcare,” said Do No Harm Chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb. “Dues-paying members of the societies and the public they serve should expect nothing less than institutional neutrality from all specialist groups.”  

The full report can be found here. 

Report Methodology:  

To track the societies’ politicization, Do No Harm identified 28 core medical specialties and then identified the related medical associations. Do No Harm then searched the organizations’ websites for official statements, such as press releases, open letters, or position statements published in academic journals, on political issues and events.

Do No Harm, established in April 2022, has rapidly gained recognition and made significant strides in its mission to safeguard healthcare from ideological threats. With 14,000 members, including doctors, nurses, physicians, and concerned citizens across all 50 states and 14 countries, DNH has achieved over 10,000 media hits in top-tier publications and garnered widespread attention through numerous broadcast news appearances.