Political Scientist Matthew Motta on the Politicization of Medicine
At the 2025 Kathleen Bennett, MD Memorial Lecture in Community Medicine on October 8, the Section of General Internal Medicine hosted Matthew Motta, PhD, an Associate Professor of Health Law, Policy, & Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. Motta presented on how medicine has become politicized and partisan. He offered clinicians some strategies for addressing these threats based on what he called the “science of standing up for science.”
The lecture, titled “The Clinician’s Role in Times of Crisis: Responding to the Politicization of Medicine,” recommended efforts for bridging political divides in medicine. Motta suggested that healthcare professionals should look to existing communications campaigns and pilot any efforts before implementing them on a larger scale. He acknowledged that communications efforts must not only disseminate evidence-based findings, but also combat existing misinformation. In addition, Motta asked the audience to consider if the costs of political advocacy are worth the potential public health benefits.
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