Building medical coalitions. (Guest Editorial).

Medical organizations that represent the primary care specialties are forming dynamic new partnerships with each other at an unprecedented level. Over the past 2 years, the leaders of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have formed much stronger relationships with each other. As physicians who provide primary care, we all acknowledge that our needs and problems--and those of our patients--are essentially the same.

This realization came from a mutual understanding that our political efforts are more effective if pursued collectively rather than individually. Action is taking place on several fronts.

For example, at the December 2002 interim meeting of the American Medical Association House of Delegates, the AMA passed a resolution calling for health care coverage for all by 2009.

I strongly believe that the resolution would not have made it to the floor had it not been for the coordinated testimony of ACOG, AAFP, ACP, AAP, and other specialty groups.

I hope everyone grasps how significant that action was for the medical community After all, here was the AMA favoring a proposed federal legislation on health care coverage for all! It was truly historic.

During the Medicare fee update negotiations, ACOG, AAFP, ACP, and AAP once again joined forces to lobby Our Washington staffs coordinated efforts and our leadership campaigned together on Capitol Hill. The number of physicians represented by these four organizations was not lost on ...