Incorporated on November 1, 1781, by an act of the Massachusetts General Court, the MMS is a non-profit organization that consists of more than 25,000 physicians, medical students and residents.

The majority of the members live or practice in Massachusetts and the immediate vicinity.

[1][non-primary source needed] The Massachusetts Medical Society owns and publishes The New England Journal of Medicine, the most widely read and cited medical journal in the world.

[2][non-primary source needed] NEJM Journal Watch publishes the following topics: In addition to its publishing activities, the key activities of the MMS include medical education for physicians, public health education for physicians and the public, legislative, and regulatory advocacy for physicians, and patients, and health policy research.

[citation needed] John Sprague was a charter member.