The ABAM FOUNDATION

1. Define the field of addiction medicine, in collaboration with expert physicians from medical specialties whose members play a significant role in prevention or treatment of addiction.

2. Educate various groups, on addiction medicine and on its importance for health care and the training of physicians. The groups shall include:

a. The leadership of the eight medical specialty societies and accrediting boards that have a significant role in prevention or treatment of addictive diseases: emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, preventive medicine, psychiatry and surgery.

b. The major components of organized medicine: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, American Board of Medical Specialties
("ABMS"), Council of Medical Specialty Societies, Federation of State Medical Boards, National Board of Medical Examiners and others.

c. Policy makers.

3. Develop Fellowship training programs in addiction medicine. This shall include:

a. Conducting surveys to determine what training is available in addiction medicine in current residency programs of the major medical specialties, in academic medical centers, in the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense programs, in addiction prevention and treatment facilities, and elsewhere.

b. Developing guidelines for accreditation and re-accreditation of Addiction Medicine
training programs at the medical education graduate level.

c. Accrediting Addiction Medicine training programs at the graduate medical education level that meet the accreditation guidelines established by the Directors.

d. Designing fellowship training programs.

e. Actively recruiting fellowship candidates.

4. Do any and all lawful things necessary or desirable for the attainment of these purposes, including receiving, taking, holding by gift, granting, assigning or transferring, either absolutely or in trust, any property, real, personal or mixed, without limitation as to amount or value; provided, however, that no part of the net earnings of the Foundation shall inure to the benefit of any private member or individual.

50 Fellowships by 2020

The ABAM Foundation serves as a catalyst to secure sustaining support for fifty Addiction Medicine Fellowship training programs. Our success will mean that in the future, at all points of entry to the health care system, patients and families will have access to treatment for addictive disorders and the medical and psychiatric consequences related to the use of alcohol, tobacco and other addicting drugs – in physicians’ offices, community clinics, emergency rooms, trauma centers, hospitals and other health care settings.

Medical Specialty Recognition

The goal of The ABAM Foundation is to gain recognition of Addiction Medicine as a medical specialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). The ABMS, established in 1933, is a not-for-profit organization comprising 24 medical specialty Member Boards, and is the preeminent entity overseeing the certification of physician specialists in the United States. The ABMS is the leader in improving the safety and quality of medical care through its policies and the physician certification processes of the ABMS Member Boards.

National Center for Physician Training in Addiction Medicine

The National Center has been established at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo’s Department of Family Medicine (University at Buffalo). The National Centers goal is to develop a “National Infrastructure for Translating Addiction Research into Clinical Practice”.f

The Training and Accreditation Committee shall be responsible for:
Training:
a. defining the field of addiction medicine, in collaboration with expert physicians from medical specialties whose members play a significant role in prevention or treatment of addiction. The definition shall include the core content, core competencies, and scope of practice.

b. conducting surveys and other studies to determine what training is available in addiction medicine in current residency programs of the major medical specialties, in academic medical centers, in the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense programs, in addiction prevention and treatment facilities, and elsewhere.

c. designing fellowship training programs, based on the core content, core competencies and scope of practice.

Established 27 Fellowship Training Programs in Addiction Medicine

Established the National Center for Physician Training in Addiction Medicine.