Five-year review

What is the five-year review?
In 1987, the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) adopted Report A of the Council on Long Range Planning and Development, which established a five-year review for specialty organizations seated in the HOD. The Five-year review is a process designed to verify: 1) that AMA membership within the specialty society is sufficient for continued eligibility in the AMA HOD and, 2) that the specialty society meets the guidelines (PDF, 15KB)and by-law requirements for representation in the HOD.

Who is reviewed?
Every specialty organization and professional interest medical association represented in the House of Delegates participates in the Five-year Review process. The schedule of societies for review is temporarily unavailable.

The review process
The Five-year Review consists of two components: 1) a letter of compliance with both the guidelines for representation in the House and the specialty responsibilities outlined in the AMA Bylaws and 2) submission of membership data verifying that the society continues to meet the AMA's membership requirements.

A sample letter of compliance (Word, 40KB) is a useful template in fulfilling the written component of the review.

The data submission is a bit more involved in that the specialty society submits its membership records in a format that allows the AMA to match its physician member roster with the AMA's Masterfile. Under the current guidelines, "members" are considered to be only physicians who 1) are current in payment of dues, 2) have full voting privileges and 3) are eligible to hold office. The Five-year Review Data Requirements (Word, 30KB) outlines the format in which this data should be supplied.

Contact:
For further information on the Five-Year Review, please feel free to e-mail AMA staff.