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

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⁾	✓⁽²⁾	✓	⁽³⁾	⁽³⁾	✓
Licensure: Historical		State licensing board	+	+⁽¹⁾	✓⁽²⁾	+	+	+	+
US education		AAMC and osteopathic schools	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
ACGME-accredited training		ACGME-accredited programs	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
ABMS board certification		ABMS	+	+	✓	+	✓	✓	✓
NPI number		CMS NPPES	+	+⁽¹⁾	+	+	+	+	+
DEA registration		DEA	+	+⁽¹⁾	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
SANCTION ALERTS*	Licensure: Current	State licensing board	+	✓⁽¹⁾	✓⁽²⁾	✓	⁽³⁾	⁽³⁾	+
	Licensure: Historical	State licensing board	+	+⁽¹⁾	✓⁽²⁾	+	⁽³⁾	⁽³⁾	+
	Medicare/Medicaid	OIG	+	+⁽¹⁾	✓	+	✓	✓	+
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⁾	+	+	⁽³⁾	⁽³⁾	+
SANCTION ALERTS*	Medicare/Medicaid	Alert from OIG	+	+⁽¹⁾	+	+	✓	✓	+
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
✓ = meets standards
+ = exceeds standards through higher level of compliance or industry leading practice

Table Footnotes
* Sanction Alerts: AMA provides notification only of sanctions in the profile’s “Action Notifications” section. Contact the primary source directly for sanction details.
(1) Per The Joint Commission’s 10 credentials verification organization guidelines
(2) 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.
(3) 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.

Acronyms
AAAHC = Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc.
AAMC = Association of American Medical Colleges
ABMS = American Board of Medical Specialties
AMA = American Medical Association
AOA = American Osteopathic 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
ECFMG = Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
HFAP = Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program
NCQA = National Committee for Quality Assurance
OIG = Office of Inspector General