Fishbein, Morris (1889–1976)

US physician, journal editor, and author. A Chicago-based doctor, he became editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association. He advocated the public's right to basic medical knowledge, and, to this end, he wrote newspaper columns and books for the lay person.

He was born in St Louis, Missouri. After joining the staff of Journal of the American Medical Association, he had little direct patient contact. Editing the Journal gave him enormous influence in American medical politics, and he used it as a forum for his outspoken criticism of medical quackery and unorthodox medical procedures. This led to him being known as the ‘voice of the AMA’. He also aired his views in numerous syndicated newspaper columns, the magazine Hygeia (1924), and books, including Modern Home Medical Advisor (1935), which became a fixture in many homes. He was a vocal advocate of traditional fee-for-service medicine and an opponent of compulsory national health insurance or any government involvement. In 1949 the journal's trustees curtailed his scope, limiting his comments to purely scientific subjects.