Clark Jaye Pahlas, a graduate student at the University of South Dakota at that time, wrote an early history of the South Dakota State Medical Association (SDSMA) in 1956. Mr. Pahlas writes:

In the scattered communities where two or three like-minded physicians happened
to locate, they would meet to discuss their common problems. These men...formed
the early beginnings of the Dakota Medical Society. As the communities began
to grow in size and number, the physicians became more numerous and united
into societies for their common benefit.

The medical profession in Dakota Territory formed its first official governing
body in 1882. The name given this infant society was the Dakota Medical
Society. The purpose of the association was to be twofold, professional
advancement and public service.

According to Pahlas, the purpose of the Dakota Medical Society, as the Association was named, was to advance the medical profession and serve the public.

From those early beginnings the SDSMA and its component medical societies have grown to represent more than 1,600 physicians and the patients they serve. SDSMA members are dedicated to protecting the health care interests of doctors and patients and enhancing the effectiveness of physicians throughout South Dakota, regardless of specialty.