A massive unmet need
The patient-doctor relationship has been eroded, and nearly half of us are burned out. Medicine is facing a crisis. We have people working hard already to make a difference, but there's still a long long way to go. For example, our largest organization has membership of just 17% of practicing US physicians. That means 83% of us do not have a voice of solidarity to stand up for what we need. We are here to organize doctors to speed up the positive transformation of healthcare. Our mission is to stand up for what is sacred in medicine: our relationships with our patients.
83% of US physicians are not represented
Eric Topol, MD
Co-founder of Medicine Forward
“We have a chance to affect the future of medicine; to advocate for patient interests; to restore the time doctors need to think, to listen, to establish trust, and build bonds, one encounter at a time.”
Our Principles
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We stand up for authentic human relationships with sufficient time and presence with every patient, cultivating optimal communication, empathy, and care. We put humanistic patient care first before the business of medicine.
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We build on a foundation of wellbeing and trust for all patients and healthcare workers as our primary aim.
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We bring physicians together from diverse backgrounds and communities to discover and elevate our shared voice. We are highly collaborative through a multi-disciplinary and multi-network model of organizing.
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We speak up for health equity and challenging the status quo.
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We confront the transformational challenges that lie ahead for the medical profession with grassroots advocacy and disruptive innovation.
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We claim our power as change agents passionate about a much better future for healthcare for all.
Our Impact
1 million+ healthcare leaders have been engaged through our collaboration with the All In Campaign on advancing healthcare worker wellbeing
1 million+ are engaged through social media outreach of our key leaders and advocates including Dr. Eric Topol, Dr. Esther Choo, Dr. Leana Wen, Dr. Tatiana Prowell, and others
25K have been engaged via stories on Medicine Forward on numerous podcasts with national reach: Out of Patients, Health Design Podcast, New Future of Work
700+ attended the virtual Town Hall launch of Medicine forward. An equal number have attended subsequent virtual Town Hall sessions: Stop the Stigma and Prior Authorization
500 physicians have joined Medicine Forward through grassroots efforts
36% of television households reached in Spring 2023 with a Gray TV feature on Medicine Forward’s advocacy disrupting Prior Authorization
1500+ reads from over 400 Substack subscribers to Medicine Forward’s e-newsletter
20 donors have contributed through spontaneous investment; a formal fundraising program has not yet been rolled out
Numerous examples of support across the Medicine Forward community for physicians to speak up in local and national settings
Collaborations
Empowering doctors to stand up with patients
Join our community designed to unleash physician agency and transform healthcare
Our movement is overdue
We need an organization that represents the values of physicians in 2023. One that has nothing to do with the business of medicine, and everything to do with putting high-quality patient care first. This means building a happy, healthy, well-rested physician workforce, who are intellectually curious and emotionally present. This means giving doctors back the single most precious resource in clinical medicine: time. This means creating a culture where physicians are supported in healing ourselves, so that we can continue the difficult and rewarding work of healing others. The goal of Medicine Forward is to unite doctors in large numbers, and lead the way to a better future.
Because, together we are a million strong
Medicine Forward is a grassroots non-profit organization created by doctors. We are guided by uncompromising human principles. We are you and you are us. They say it takes 3.5% of a population to change the world. Simple math argues that even the first 35,000 of us can dramatically change the fate of US healthcare. But, our vision is bigger than that. We imagine a world where all physicians are united by our mission to restore care to the heart of medicine.
And, together we can change the world
Our passion is fueled by our humanitarian values and the inspiration of Eric Topol’s New Yorker article in 2019. We’ve created a private social network on Mighty Networks to get the ball rolling. It’s a place where you will be heard about what's most important to you in medicine—where you can amplify your voice—where you will find fellow physicians who are motivated to take action for what we believe in. Most importantly, it’s where we can begin to build the engine we need for positive change.
Our network is a safe space for all doctors. We pride ourselves on our diversity and inclusivity. Both in our ideas and in our backgrounds.