The AMA Physician Masterfile is a database of current and historical information on all physicians, medical residents and students in the US, including doctors of medicine (MD) and doctors of osteopathy (DO). Information contained in the Masterfile includes contact information and basic professional information such as medical school and residency training, specialty, type of practice, and so forth. Masterfile data is typically used to identify random samples of U.S. physicians or trainees for surveys, or to determine the distribution of physicians across specialties, geographic regions, etc. Access to Masterfile data is granted through any of several database licensees; prices vary depending on the nature of the data requested and the licensee.
Expert Comments
This dataset provides basic demographic information about physicians as well as contact information. It is primarily useful for two main purposes: (1) identifying a population-based cohort of physicians for surveys and (2) obtaining physician characteristics for other studies (e.g., studies using claims data for which physician UPINs are available). It has also been used to examine trends in physician specialty over time, but the limited information about physicians provide few opportunities for using this as a stand-alone database for research.
Dataset Owner
American Medical Association
Study and Sample Characteristics
The Masterfile contains current and historical data on approximately 940,000 living and deceased residents and physicians in the United States and on 77,000 students in schools of medicine and osteopathy. It includes data on 243,000 foreign medical graduates who live in the United States and have met basic credentialing requirements. Data have been collected since 1906.
Major Foci
Physician contact information (including name and professional mailing address) and basic professional information (including date of birth, sex, year of graduation, medical school, training history, specialty, hospital affiliations, and type of practice). Historical data can also be accessed.
Links to Other Datasets
The nature of the dataset allows links to other data sources that contain physician-identifiable information (such as UPIN or name and date of birth).
Papers Published
Click here for a PubMed search for articles using this dataset.
Examples of papers published using Masterfile data include:
Universal health care and reform of the health care system: views of medical students in the United States.
Huebner J, Agrawal JR, Sehgal AR, Jung P, Hedgecock J, Simon SR.
Acad Med. 2006 Aug;81(8):721-7.
Impact of malpractice reforms on the supply of physician services.
Kessler DP, Sage WM, Becker DJ.
JAMA. 2005 Jun 1;293(21):2618-25.
Support for national health insurance among U.S. physicians: a national survey.
Ackermann RT, Carroll AE.
Ann Intern Med. 2003 Nov 18;139(10):795-801.
Counseling smoking parents of young children: comparison of pediatricians and family physicians.
Pérez-Stable EJ, Juarez-Reyes M, Kaplan C, Fuentes-Afflick E, Gildengorin V, Millstein S.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001 Jan;155(1):25-31.
The effect of federal grants on medical schools' production of primary care physicians.
Rosenblatt RA, Whitcomb ME, Cullen TJ, Lishner DM, Hart LG.
Am J Public Health. 1993 Mar;83(3):322-8.
Data Accessibility and Cost
The pricing structure is contingent on the number of records plus service and handling charges; price also varies between data licensees even for the same request. As a rough example, the price to obtain contact information on a random sample of 2000 general internists is approximately $400. In addition, a written agreement, regardless of requesting party, content, or media is required.
Data is available through any of the following licensees:
Dendrite International
1425 Route 206 South
Bedminster, NJ 07921
Contact Hava Elster-Hipps
919-650-2134
E-mail: hava.elster@dendrite.com
Direct Medical Data**
2340 River Road Suite 408
Des Plaines, IL 60018
(866) 436-3328 (toll free) / (800) 733-9035 (toll free)
(847) 813-1170 ext. 26 (main)
(847) 759-0987 (fax) / (732) 987-7134
E-mail: nswanson@dmddata.com
Web site: http://www.dmdconnects.com/
J. Knipper and Company, Inc
One Healthcare Way
Lakewood, NJ 08701
(800) 828-4811/ (732) 905-0469
Contact Evan Myron
(732) 987-7134
Medical Marketing Service, Inc.(MMS)* **
185 Hansen Court, Ste 110
Wood Dale, IL 60191
(800) 633-5478 ext. 0 / (800) MED-LIST
(630) 350-1896 (fax)
E-mail: sales@mmslists.com
Web site: http://www.mmslists.com
Terry Nugent/VP Marketing
(630) 350-1717
Verispan, LLC* **
650 Dresher Road
Horsham, PA 19044
(215) 347-6848 (direct number) / (215) 347-1671 (fax number)
Contact Tracey Rothrock E-mail: tracey.rothrock@verispan.com
Web site: http://www.imshealth.com/portal/site/ims/menuitem.67d27758095930c9ec895c973208c22a/?vgnextoid=bf91aea28db26310VgnVCM10000076192ca2RCRD&vgnextfmt=default
Redi-Mail Direct Marketing
5 Audrey Place
Fairfield, NJ 07004-3401
Tom Buckley-President
(973) 808-4500/ (973) 808-5511(fax)
E-mail: sales@redimail.com
*Indicates DBLs who offer a physician authentication interface for websites
**Indicates DBLs who also offer an email list
Help Desk
If you need additional information regarding licenses contact Andrea McNeal at (312) 464-5167or andrea.mcneal@ama-assn.org.
For information regarding physician-related data resources email: PhysData@ama-assn.org.