At the same time, easy access to the Internet has shaken consumer trust in medicine by providing access to both medical websites and websites that critique medical care. The federal government has supported the opening of medical information to consumers; its website at www.healthfinder.org was established specifically to give consumers online access to publications, clearinghouses, databases, other websites, self-help groups, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations related to both allopathic and alternative medicine. Such information can lead consumers to diagnose them- selves, challenge their doctors’ recommendations, or seek nonmedical care, thus challenging medical dominance.
Medical dominance has also been threatened by the decline of the AMA. Whereas a half-century ago most doctors belonged to the AMA, now at most one-quarter do. Instead, some doctors join more liberal organizations that often oppose the AMA such as Physicians for Social Responsibility, and many join specialty organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. As a result, no one group can speak with the full force of the medical profession behind it.