RESOLVED, That the North Carolina Medical Society endorse a Statement of Collaborative Intent that was endorsed by the AMA House of Delegates in June 1997.

STATEMENT OF COLLABORATIVE INTENT
At its 1997 Annual Meeting, the AMA House of Delegates endorsed the following Statement of Collaborative Intent and asked that it be distributed to members of the Federation of Medicine for endorsement by their policy making bodies.

Preamble
The Federation of Medicine is a collaborative partnership in medicine. This partnership is comprised of the independent and autonomous medical associations in the AMA House of Delegates and their component and related societies. As the assemblage of the Federation of Medicine, the AMA House of Delegates is the framework for this partnership.

Goals
The goals of the Federation of Medicine are to:

• achieve a unified voice for organized medicine;
• work for the common good of all patients and physicians;
• promote trust and cooperation among members of the Federation;
• advance the image of the medical profession; and
• increase overall efficiency of organized medicine for the benefit of our member physicians.

Principles

1. Organizations in the Federation will collaborate in the development of joint programs and services that benefit patients and member physicians.
2. Organizations in the Federation will be supportive of membership at all levels of the Federation.
3. Organizations in the Federation will seek ways to enhance communications among physicians, between physicians and medical associations, and among organizations in the Federation.
4. Each organization in the Federation of Medicine will actively participate in the policy development process of the AMA House of Delegates.
5. Organizations in the Federation have a right to express their policy positions.
6. Organizations in the Federation will support, whenever possible, the policies, advocacy positions, and strategies established by the Federation of Medicine.
7. Organizations in the Federation will support an environment of mutual trust and respect.
8. Organizations in the Federation will inform other organizations in the Federation in a timely manner whenever their major policies, positions, strategies, or public statements may be in conflict.
9. Organizations in the Federation will support the development and use of a mechanism to resolve disputes among member organizations.
10. Organizations in the Federation will actively work toward identification of ways in which participation in the Federation could benefit them.