JAMA is, among other things, a forum for open discussion of matters
relevant to the field of medicine, a place for responsible, balanced debate
for the education of readers, primarily physicians, to help meet the overall
mission of advancing the art and science of medicine and the betterment of
public health. The members of the American Medical Association (AMA) (nearly
300000 or nearly 40% of US licensed physicians and medical students) are the
owners of JAMA, and they, along with nonmember physicians through their
representatives in the federation of American medicine (the House of Delegates
representing 95% of US physicians), have consistently supported the editorial
freedom of JAMA to operate within an approved set of goals and objectives.1