CHEST Reinforces Science-Based Medicine as a Guiding Principle

September 29, 2025

When the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) codified organizational values two years ago, members, leaders, and staff believed certain tenets to be endemic to all medical societies. For example, the field of medicine is grounded in science.

Medical societies were broadly formed by communities of peers seeking a mechanism to report, scrutinize, and socialize emerging scientific knowledge. The most validated and reproducible science is stewarded into everyday practice to ensure patients receive the safest, most effective, and most compassionate care possible—so every patient can be diagnosed and treated sooner, breathe easier, and live longer. A noble purpose.

Accepting this purpose as fact, we focused on values that would serve as guiding principles, empowering us to conduct our mission in the service of achieving our vision. Community. Inclusivity. Innovation. Advocacy. Integrity.

We are committed to living these values and deliberately incorporating them into all aspects of CHEST, both seen and unseen.

In light of recent attacks on evidence-based medicine, the CHEST Board of Regents determined at its first meeting of 2025 that stating a sixth value was warranted and necessary and took action to adopt the following:

SCIENCE-BASED: We lead with science by supporting scientific discovery, applying evidence-based practices, and promoting trustworthy resources to deliver better outcomes and improve quality of life for everyone.

Evidence-based medicine is grounded in scientific discovery and research. But in the present time, this value is under attack. In the present time, institutions with once-noble purposes are being reshaped and dismantled with no regard for the betterment of public health. Patients and families deserve care decisions based on the best evidence—not ideology or misinformation. Our commitment is to safeguard trust at the bedside, where every decision can change a life.

Behind our words and this sixth value, CHEST cements the following commitments and actions:

• We leverage philanthropy to fund scientific discovery that propels earlier diagnoses, more effective treatments, and better recovery for patients with lung disease, critical illness, and sleep disorders.
• We host discourse, facilitate peer review, and publish and promote research that transforms patient care.
• We evaluate emerging evidence to create recommendations that help standardize care and support consistent and effective treatments for patients.
• We collaborate with organizations and companies that share our goals and mission, leveraging our combined strengths to enhance patient care through stronger standards of care.
• We support our members in combating misinformation through the development of programs, educational initiatives, tools, and resources that help them guide patients and families toward trustworthy information, empowering them to make informed care decisions.
• We trust medicine grounded in research and supported by data. The evolution of scientific discovery does not invalidate the past but advances future knowledge and, in medicine, improves standards of care.

This is who CHEST is. This is what we have done for 90 years. We hold steadfast in our mission to champion the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases to achieve better outcomes for every patient.