The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the oldest continuously operating state medical association in the United States. Incorporated on November 1, 1781, by an act of the Massachusetts General Court, the MMS is a non-profit organization that consists of more than 25,000 physicians, medical students and residents. It is currently based in Waltham, Massachusetts. The majority of the members live or practice in Massachusetts and the immediate vicinity.

Publication

The Massachusetts Medical Society owns and publishes The New England Journal of Medicine, the most widely read and cited medical journal in the world. The New England Journal of Medicine is also the oldest continuously published and circulating medical journal in the world and has an impact factor of 91.2, the highest among all the medical journals in the world. It also publishes Journal Watch, a group of professional newsletters. NEJM Journal Watch publishes the following topics: In addition to its publishing activities, the key activities of the MMS include medical education for physicians, public health education for physicians and the public, legislative, and regulatory advocacy for physicians, and patients, and health policy research.

History

The charter of the MMS is signed by Samuel Adams as president of the Massachusetts Senate, and John Hancock as Governor of Massachusetts. John Sprague was a charter member.