The Flexner Report, published in 1910, was a critical document that transformed medical education in the United States and Canada.

Commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation and authored by educator Abraham Flexner, the report provided a comprehensive evaluation of medical schools across North America. It exposed the uneven quality of education, poor standards, and lack of scientific rigor in many institutions, calling for reform to ensure that medical training was based on research, laboratory science, and high academic standards. The report led to the closure of many medical schools, the consolidation of others, and the alignment of medical education with the model pioneered by universities such as Johns Hopkins, which emphasized rigorous academic and clinical training.

The Flexner Report significantly improved the quality of healthcare by ensuring that future physicians were properly trained, thereby shaping the development of modern medical education and elevating the profession’s standards. But its legacy isn't wholly positive. Because of the Flexner report, five out of seven of the nation's Black medical schools were closed, which had a significant impact on access to medical education for Black physicians and on healthcare inequality that persist today.