History

The San Joaquin Medical Society was formed in 1874 and therefore is one of the oldest medical societies in California and served as a connecting point for its original members who served the central valley. Throughout the years the society has expanded its focus and capabilities with the addition of various subsidiary agencies such as the Bureau of Medical Economics (BME) which provided business-related services throughout the years such as a phone exchange, bill collecting service and even at one time a travel agency which sponsored CME trips for physicians.

The SJMS focuses most of its time and energy today providing its members with aggressive political advocacy in Sacramento and Washington DC, but also at the local and regional level working on issues important to our membership. Additionally, the society employs full-time staff members equipped to support members practices with time-saving and cost-cutting benefits and resources.

One thing that hasn’t changed in our 135+ year history is our commitment to our community, our patients and most importantly our physician membership. Whether we are working on a difficult reimbursement issue for one of our members, debating the latest scope-of-practice infringement legislation with a lawmaker or assisting a community member locate the correct medical care – we’re here to serve for all of those reasons and many more just as was intended in 1874.