AMA Meets Standards

The AMA has verified with the primary sources each of the credentials elements listed in the following tables.

AMA Credentialing Products and Services Measured Against Regulatory and Accreditation Standards
Revised June 2022

AMA PHYSICIAN PROFILE (MD and DO)

			Hospital Setting				Managed Care		AAAHC
Credentials Element		Source	CMS	TJC*	HFAP^†	DNV	CMS	NCQA	AAAHC
Licensure: Current		State licensing board	✓	✓	✓	✓	⁽¹⁾	⁽¹⁾	✓
Licensure: Historical		State licensing board	+	+	✓	+	+	+	+
US education		AAMC and osteopathic schools	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
ACGME-accredited training		ACGME-accredited programs	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
ABMS board certification		ABMS	+	+	✓	+	✓	✓	✓
NPI number		CMS NPPES	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
DEA registration		DEA	+	+	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Sanction alerts‡	Licensure: Current	State licensing board	+	✓	✓	✓	⁽¹⁾	⁽¹⁾	+
	Licensure: Historical	State licensing board	+	+	✓	+	⁽¹⁾	⁽¹⁾	+
	Medicare/Medicaid	OIG	+	+	✓	+	✓	✓	+
	DEA	DEA	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
	US Air Force, Army, Navy, DOD, and VA: Historical	Respective military branch/agency	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
ECFMG identification number		ECFMG	AMA provides the number only. Contact ECFMG directly for verification.

CONTINUOUS MONITORING SERVICE OF PHYSICIAN PROFILES

			Hospital Setting				Managed Care		AAAHC
Sections Monitored on an Ongoing Basis		Update Notification Trigger	CMS	TJC*	HFAP	DNV	CMS	NCQA	AAAHC
Sanction alerts	Licensure: Current and historical	Alert from state licensing board	+	+	+	+	⁽¹⁾	⁽¹⁾	+
	Medicare/Medicaid	Alert from OIG	+	+	+	+	✓	✓	+
	DEA	Alert from DEA	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Licensure		Changes in: License number MD/DO Locale Date granted Expiration date Status License type	✓	✓	✓	✓	+	+	+
NPI number		Changes in: NPI number Replacement number	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
DEA registration		Changes in: DEA number Business activity Drug schedule Activity Expiration date	+	+	✓	+	+	+	+
ABMS board certification		Changes in: Certifying board Certificate Certificate type Duration Effective date Expiration date	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
ACGME-accredited training		Changes in: Sponsoring institution Specialty Dates	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
US education		Changes in: School name Degree awarded Degree year	+	+	+	+	+	+	+

Download an important file containing acceptance of AMA Physician Masterfile data from TJC, NCQA, and AAAHC as well as an ABMS statement on AMA as an official display agent.

Symbols/indicators
✓ = meets standards
+ = exceeds standards through higher level of compliance or industry leading practice
(1) NCQA and CMS for Medicare Advantage require primary source verification of license directly with the licensing board and license sanctions directly with the licensing board or other recognized source.

Notes
* The Joint Commission accreditation standards deem the AMA Physician Masterfile, which populates AMA Physician Profiles, as a designated equivalent source for physician medical school, postgraduate medical training, and (due to its official ABMS display agent status) ABMS board certification. All other primary-source-reported information on the AMA Physician Profile meets and exceeds TJC principles for a credentials verification organization. See the AMA response to TJC CVO requirements.
† HFAP requires primary source verification of licensure but additionally requires a query of the National Practitioner Data Bank and of the Federation of State Medical Boards or the Fraud and Abuse Control Information System.
‡ Sanction Alerts: AMA provides notification only of sanctions in the profile’s “Action Notifications” section. Contact the primary source directly for sanction details.

Acronyms
AAAHC = Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc.
AAMC = Association of American Medical Colleges
ABMS = American Board of Medical Specialties
ACGME = Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
AMA = American Medical Association
CMS for hospital setting = Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Conditions of Participation for Hospitals
CMS for managed care setting = Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Medicare Advantage
DEA = Drug Enforcement Administration
DNV = DNV Healthcare
DOD = Department of Defense
ECFMG = Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
HFAP = Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program
NCQA = National Committee for Quality Assurance
NPPES = National Plan and Provider Enumeration System
OIG = Office of Inspector General
TJC = The Joint Commission
VA = Veterans Administration

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AMA Meets Standards

AMA Credentialing Products and Services Measured Against Regulatory and Accreditation Standards Revised June 2022

AMA Credentialing Products and Services Measured Against Regulatory and Accreditation Standards
Revised June 2022