In An Ironic Twist, the AMA Seeks Alternatives to the Residency Matching Program

BLUF: The American Medical Association has passed a resolution suggesting that alternatives to the current residency and fellowship Match process should be explored to promote free market competition for applicants, despite having been involved in an antitrust class action lawsuit regarding the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) in the past. This article discusses the history of the NRMP, its establishment by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the support it received from the AMA. It also highlights the lawsuit brought against the NRMP and the subsequent exemption it received from the Sherman Antitrust Act. The article further explores the licensing of Assistant Physicians (APs) in Missouri and other states, and the limitations on their licensure imposed by lobbying from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the AMA. The resolution calls for the study of alternatives to the current matching system that are less restrictive on free market competition for applicants, and the article proposes the use of experience as an AP as an alternative pathway to unrestricted licensure as General Practitioners (GPs).

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