I recently received an email from the American Medical Association with the subject line: "AMA Census of Physicians". Here is it in its entirety:
Dear Colleague,
Welcome to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) electronic Census of Physicians. Each year the AMA conducts a census of active physicians to ensure the accuracy of the Physician Masterfile. The AMA has contracted Confirmit, a trusted Web survey software provider, to conduct this online survey enabling you to update your Masterfile record quickly, easily, and most importantly, securely.
Welcome to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) electronic Census of Physicians. Each year the AMA conducts a census of active physicians to ensure the accuracy of the Physician Masterfile. The AMA has contracted Confirmit, a trusted Web survey software provider, to conduct this online survey enabling you to update your Masterfile record quickly, easily, and most importantly, securely.
As one of the most comprehensive physician databases in the U.S., the AMA Physician Masterfile is a premier resource for many important research and planning initiatives that deal with contemporary issues in the medical profession, including emergency preparedness and response, public health and safety, health care disparities and patient access, workforce shortages and the future of medical education. The Masterfile also serves as a valuable resource to many health care organizations, state and federal regulatory agencies involved in physicians’ credentials verification activities.
More importantly, it is vital to you and your practice that you keep your information current. By doing so, you ensure that health care organizations utilizing the AMA Physician Masterfile to verify physicians’ credentials have the most accurate information about you. You also ensure that your practice continues to receive appropriate and relevant medical information in a timely fashion.
We encourage you to please take this opportunity to update your information through our web-based survey by clicking on the link below. It takes approximately 5 minutes to complete, and if you need assistance or prefer to receive a hard copy survey, you may call an AMA representative at 1 800 262-3211, Monday through Friday, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Central Standard Time.
Monica Quiroz
Director, Division of Survey & Data Resources
American Medical Association
View our privacy policy.
Doesn't it seem like the AMA is trying to help? It seems like it is all about research, emergency preparedness, public health and safety. Or is it? The AMA makes millions each year selling the information they receive about doctors. And it is easy to get, too. I should know because years ago I purchased lists from them for direct mailings of the Placebo Journal. What about their privacy policy, you ask? Well, if you read it you will find that:
The AMA may share personal information with our business partners in order to provide them an opportunity to offer products or services that may be of interest to you.
In other words, the AMA is truly just updating their database under the innocuous guise of a "census" in order to make money. I challenge them to prove me wrong and show me how much they made selling our information last year. This email was deceptive and wrong.
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