About

Mission

Our mission is to promote academic excellence and leadership in addiction medicine.

Vision

To be the premier physician membership organization in academic addiction medicine by:

  • Developing and supporting ACGME fellowships and credentialed faculty
  • Promoting high standards and evidence-informed science free of outside influence or bias
  • Integrating and teaching an addiction medicine curriculum in all medical schools and residencies
  • Representing the interests of academic addiction medicine to stakeholders, including the public
  • Advancing a formal presence of addiction medicine across medicine and health care

Values

  • Excellence and Integrity
  • Dedication and Passion
  • Stewardship and Mentoring
  • Collaboration and Collegiality
  • Equity and Social Responsibility

ACAAM is dedicated to fostering an equitable, welcoming environment within academic addiction medicine. Learn about our anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

2021 Strategic Priorities

The ACAAM Board of Directors identified five 2021 Strategic Priorities to guide strategic and operational efforts.
  • Finance & Administration
  • Membership & Engagement
  • Education
  • Workforce/Academic Development
  • External Relations

Our History

The American College of Academic Addiction Medicine (ACAAM) began as the American Board of Addiction Medicine Foundation in 2007, was renamed The Addiction Medicine Foundation (TAMF) in 2015, and became ACAAM on January 1, 2019. The first decade of our activity was focused on establishing the nation’s first accredited addiction medicine fellowships and bringing the specialty of addiction medicine into the “House of Medicine” by gaining membership in the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and recognition by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). TAMF also supported the American Board of Addiction Medicine in its work of setting standards, examining, and advancing a continuous certification program for over 4,000 physicians in the field of addiction medicine. In 2017, two landmark events brought our field into mainstream medicine and health care: the addiction medicine examination transitioned to the ABMS member board, the American Board of Preventive Medicine (now the sole entity examining and certifying addiction medicine physicians), and ACGME began the first accreditations of addiction medicine fellowships. By January, 2019 over 60 fellowships had been established. The minimal number of ACGME fellowships needed to meet the projected need for addiction medicine physicians is 125. ACAAM and its supporting organizations intend to meet or exceed this objective.

Addiction Medicine’s Array of Organizations Simplified