Information about Doctors

One major source of medical information is the American Medical Association, which represents 40% of an estimated 700,000 doctors nationwide but maintains a "master file" of information on most doctors practicing in the USA.

The organization nets more than $40 million in fees each year, about half from hospitals seeking to verify doctors' credentials and the rest from nearly a dozen firms that repackage the information and sell it to their clients. About 22,000 doctors have opted out of the AMA program, says spokesman Robert Mills.

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