The Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons (ICPS) was founded in 1979 to promote cooperation among U.S. Hispanic physicians and to advance their professional and educational needs. Today, the ICPS is the largest association of Hispanic physicians in the nation, reaching the vast majority of the Hispanic medical community in the United States and Puerto Rico over 39,000 physicians and a growing number of health professionals in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Spain through its publications, conferences and links to Hispanic medical societies.

Established as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, non-governmental organization, the ICPS is incorporated in the District of Columbia. It is a powerful professional net-work that provides information and support to physicians, faculty, researchers, health institutions, government agencies, community based-organizations, and medical societies in the United States, Latin America and Spain.

Health is a fundamental human value and the basis for the achievement of any other values. Despite its great vitality, the health status of the Hispanic/Latino community in the United States continues to be below the general level of health of the North American population. We face serious and numerous health problems which demand a quick and determined response from health professionals.

The Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons (ICPS) was founded to help improve the quality of health care in the Hispanic/Latino community and advance the professional and educational needs of Latino health care professionals. Since its founding in 1979, the ICPS has carried out many activities supporting our health professionals and our community.

These goals provide direction to all our programs

• Improve the health of the Hispanic community
• Reduce incidence of preventable diseases
• Improve educational and leadership opportunities for Hispanic physicians
• Encourage Hispanics to pursue careers in the healthcare field

We are living in a decisive moment for the future of the health in the United States. The Hispanic/Latino community will become the largest minority in the country. This will make the role of our members in the preservation and promotion of health in our community even more important than today. Furthermore, medicine will be practiced in an environment ever more complicated, competitive, regulated, and dominated by Health Management Organizations. These and other changes will bring about new problems and new challenges for which we have to be prepared. It is necessary that we focus our efforts. ICPS possesses the organization, knowledge, leadership, and experience to catalyze and coordinate our efforts to improve the health of the Hispanic/Latino community.