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Association of American Physicians and Surgeons



The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a politically conservative association of physicians, medical professionals and students, patients and others,[1] founded in 1943.[2] According to the AAPS's website, the organization is "dedicated to the highest ethical standards of the Oath of Hippocrates and to preserving the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship and the practice of private medicine",[3] and to "supporting the principles of the free market in medical practice."[1] The motto of the AAPS is omnia pro aegroto which means "all for the patient."

The group had approximately 4,000 members in 2005.[4] Notable members include Ron Paul and John Cooksey.[5] The executive director is Jane Orient, professor of clinical medicine at the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine.

Contents

Positions

A 1966 article in the New York Times described the organization as an "ultra-right-wing... political-economic rather than medical" group, and asserted that historically some of its leaders had been members of the John Birch Society.[6][7]

Currently, the organization opposes mandatory vaccination,[8] universal health care[9] and government intervention in healthcare.[10] The AAPS has characterized the effects of the Social Security Act of 1965, which established Medicare and Medicaid, and socialized medicine as "evil" and "immoral",[11] and encouraged members to avoid participating in Medicare and Medicaid.[12][13] AAPS believes that there is no right to medical care, and opposes efforts to implement a national health plan.[14] The organization also opposes the use of evidence-based medicine and practice guidelines as a usurpation of physician autonomy.[15]

AAPS opposes abortion[16] and over-the-counter access to emergency contraception.[17]

AAPS helped appeal the conviction of Virginia internist William Hurwitz, who was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for prescribing excessive quantities of narcotic drugs after 16 former patients testified against him.[18] Hurwitz was granted a retrial in 2006, and his 25-year prison sentence was reduced to 57 months.[19]

In 2004, AAPS filed a brief on behalf of Rush Limbaugh.[20] In 1975, they went to court to block enforcement of a new Social Security amendment that would monitor the treatment given Medicare and Medicaid patients.[21] More recently, they have been involved in litigation against HIPAA, arguing that it is violates the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution by allowing government access to certain medical data without a warrant.[22] In 2006 the group called attention to sham peer review.[23]

Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons

The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons (JPandS), until 2003 named the Medical Sentinel,[24][25] is the journal of the association. Its mission statement includes "… a commitment to publishing scholarly articles in defense of the practice of private medicine, the pursuit of integrity in medical research … Political correctness, dogmatism and orthodoxy will be challenged with logical reasoning, valid data and the scientific method." Articles in the journal are subject to a double-blind peer-review process.[26]

Some past articles and commentaries published in the journal have argued:

A series of articles by pro-life authors published in the journal argued for the existence of a link between abortion and breast cancer;[32][33] such a link has been rejected by the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and the mainstream scientific community.[34][35]

The journal is not listed in the major literature databases of MEDLINE/PubMed[36] nor the Web of Science.[37] The World Health Organization found that a 2003 article on vaccination published in the journal had "a number of limitations which undermine the conclusions drawn by the authors."[38]

Quackwatch lists JPandS as an untrustworthy, non-recommended periodical.[39]

Investigative journalist Brian Deer wrote that the journal is the "house magazine of a right-wing American fringe group [AAPS]" and "is barely credible as an independent forum."[40]

AAPS vs Clinton

In 1993, the AAPS, along with several other groups, filed a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and Donna Shalala‎ over closed-door meetings related to the 1993 Clinton health care plan. The AAPS sued to gain access to the list of members of President Clinton's health care taskforce. Judge Royce C. Lamberth found in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded $285,864 to the AAPS for legal costs; Lamberth also harshly criticized the Clinton administration and Clinton aide Ira Magaziner in his ruling.[41] Subsequently, a federal appeals court overturned the award and the initial findings on the basis that Magaziner and the administration had not acted in bad faith.[42]

References

  1. ^ a b AAPS membership information. AAPS website. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  2. ^ Portent. TIME magazine (8 May 1944). Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  3. ^ AAPS Online. AAPS website. Retrieved on 2006-01-30.
  4. ^ Doctors Who Hurt Doctors. TIME magazine (7 August 2005). Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  5. ^ AAPS (October 2002). Volume 58, No. 10 October 2002. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  6. ^ New Power in A.M.A.; Milford Owen Rouse, published June 30 1966 in the New York Times. Accessed March 16 2007.
  7. ^ Biography of past president of the AAPS and member of the JBS
  8. ^ AAPS Mandatory Vaccine Factsheet. AAPS website. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
  9. ^ AAPS Petition. AAPS website. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
  10. ^ AAPS Letter Against Healthcare Reform. AAPS website. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
  11. ^ Principles of the AAPS, from the AAPS website. Accessed March 10 2007.
  12. ^ Medicare Boycott Urged for Doctors, published August 5 1965 in the New York Times. Accessed March 16 2007.
  13. ^ Notes on Opting Out of Medicare, from the AAPS website. Accessed March 10 2007.
  14. ^ RESOLUTION 2001-1: Medical Care Is NOT a Right, from the AAPS website. Accessed March 10 2007.
  15. ^ The Standard of Care, from the AAPS website. Accessed March 10 2007.
  16. ^ Resolution passed by the Assembly - Affirming the Sanctity of Human Life, from the AAPS website. Accessed March 12 2007.
  17. ^ Comments re: Docket No. 2005N-0345, RIN 0910-AF72, from the AAPS website. Accessed March 12 2007.
  18. ^ Why Is The DEA Hounding This Doctor?. TIME magazine (18 July 2005). Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  19. ^ [Washington Post story], July 14th, 2007.
  20. ^ Doctors Group: Limbaugh Medical Records Seizure Unlawful. NewsMax.com (22 February 2004). Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  21. ^ Review for Doctors. TIME magazine (1 December 1975). Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  22. ^ Peters, S. (October 2001). Physicians File Lawsuit To Overturn HIPAA. Internal Medicine News. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  23. ^ Lawrence R. Huntoon (May 9, 2006). Sham Peer Review: A National Epidemic. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  24. ^ Medical Sentinel. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  25. ^ Major Changes to AAPS Peer-Reviewed Journal. AAPS website. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  26. ^ Manuscript information for authors. JPandS website. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  27. ^ The FDA and HCFA (Part II): Unconstitutional Regulatory Agencies, by James A. Albright, MD. Published in Medical Sentinel, 2000;5(6):205-208.
  28. ^ Conspiracy --- Part III, by Curtis W. Caine, MD. Published in Medical Sentinel, 1999;4(6):224.
  29. ^ Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide by Arthur B. Robinson, Noah E. Robinson, and Willie Soon. Published in The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, 2007; 12(3), 79.
  30. ^ AIDS - A Heterosexual Epidemic? by Michael Fumento and AIDS - Inventing a Virus? Commentary by Peter H. Duesberg, PhD. From Medical Sentinel, Volume 2, No. 3, Summer 1997. | duesberg.com
  31. ^ Homosexuality: Some Neglected Considerations, by Nathaniel S. Lehrman, MD. Published in Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Volume 10, Number 3 (Fall 2005), pp. 80-82.
  32. ^ The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link: How Politics Trumped Science and Informed Consent, by Karen Malec. Published in Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Volume 8, Number 2 (Summer 2003), pp. 41-45.
  33. ^ Induced Abortion as an Independent Risk Factor for Breast Cancer: A Critical Review of Recent Studies Based on Prospective Data, by Joel Brind, Ph.D. Published in Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Volume 10, Number 4 (Winter 2005), pp. 105-110.
  34. ^ Abortion, Miscarriage, and Breast Cancer Risk. Fact sheet from the National Cancer Institute. Accessed March 11 2007.
  35. ^ Can Having an Abortion Cause or Contribute to Breast Cancer? Fact sheet from the American Cancer Society. Accessed November 14 2007.
  36. ^ PubMed database. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  37. ^ Web of Science. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  38. ^ Position of the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety regarding concerns raised by paper about the safety of thiomersal-containing vaccines. WHO. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  39. ^ Barrett, S., M.D. Nonrecommended Periodicals. Quackwatch. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
  40. ^ Bitter Heather Mills defends credibility as Wakefield anti-MMR campaign crumbles. BrianDeer.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  41. ^ Judge Rules Government Covered Up Lies on Panel, By Robert Pear. From the New York Times, December 19 1997; accessed January 3 2008.
  42. ^ Court Clears Clinton Aide In Lying Case, by Neil A. Lewis. Published in the New York Times, August 25 1999. Accessed January 3 2008.
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Association_of_American_Physicians_and_Surgeons". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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