American College of Chest Physicians

The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) is a medical professional association dedicated to the improvement of cardiopulmonary health and critical cares worldwide. The ACCP was founded in 1933 and currently has approximately 16,000 members. The College’s mission is to promote the prevention and treatment of diseases of the chest through leadership, education, research, and communication. The ACCP achieves its mission through continuing medical education programs, government relations� activities, development of clinical practice guidelines and consensus statements, membership services, professional publications, and philanthropic activities through the ACCP’s “Chest Foundation.” The College’s public affairs and government relations activities include initiating, developing, organizing, and implementing policies intended to educate the various branches of the government about the College and its positions on issues including health care reform, antismoking measures, other issues dealing with the prevention of lung and heart disease, and government-sponsored biomedical research. In addition, through its Health and Science Policy Committee, the ACCP is committed to monitoring scientific and clinical developments in the field of cardiopulmonary health and critical care; conducting scientific conferences to discuss the current status of research in the field and make recommendations for future research in the scientific community and appropriate research agencies; and transferring research findings into clinical practice recommendations and identifying gaps in current clinical knowledge by the development, dissemination, and assessment of clinical practice guidelines and consensus statements. In 1996, the Chest Foundation was established as the philanthropic arm of and adjunct to the ACCP. The Foundation is dedicated to providing resources to advance the prevention and treatment of diseases of the chest. The Chest Foundation’s current priorities include smoking prevention and cessation; end-of-life issues; diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), tuberculosis, and asthma; research initiatives; and ongoing activities including grants, awards, and honor lectureships. The ACCP’s professional publications include “CHEST-The Cardiopulmonary and Critical Care Journal,” the “ACCP’s Educational Coding Manual,” a quarterly scientific publication entitled “Pulmonary Perspectives,” a quarterly newsletter entitled “Chest Soundings,” and the annual “Membership Directory and Referral Guide.”