Baltimore City Medical Society (BCMS)

Organized medicine in Baltimore traces its origin to 1788 when a small group of physicians from Baltimore and its environs met to form a medical society. The goal was to develop a "plan for the regulation of medical practice" according to the announcement. No organization was actually formed, however, until 1799 when the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty (Maryland medical society) was charted by the State. A few years later, in 1805 the Baltimore City Medical Society was formed. With the exception of a period during the Civil War when meetings were prohibited, there has been an active medical society in the City. The present Baltimore City Medical Society as a component part of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, was formed in April 1904. While the bylaws have been changed and even replaced since 1805, the basic goals of organized medicine in Baltimore City has not changed. The Society was formed to sustain quality medical practice and to serve the citizens of Baltimore and it continues to seek those goals today.