Today I received another one of these in the mail.
It's a dues notice from the American Medical Association.
For a mere $420.00 per year, I can become a member.
Over 10 years ago, I dropped out of the AMA because it
seemed to be run by a bunch of old guys who were out of touch with the real
issues of practicing medicine in the 21st century. Other than the included
subscription to a journal which was then called Archives of Surgery, I felt
that I received no value from belonging.
Approximately every 3 months since then I have received
notices like the one above from the organization.
By now, you would think they might have a clue that I am not
interested in rejoining, but the notices keep on coming. I realize the process
is probably automated and the algorithm doesn't sense the fact that I'm never
going to respond. But here's a thought.
There's a scheme that some magazines run. They send you a
"free" copy and if you don't read the fine print, you get one every
month. Then you get a bill.
A variation is this. Figuring that your address is a
business which is quite likely when someone is an MD, magazines send frequent subscription
"renewal" notices when you've decided to discontinue it or even when no
prior subscription exists. What they are hoping for is that an office manager
or secretary will see the notice and pay the bill as a matter of routine.
To illustrate this note that I also discontinued my
subscription to the New England Journal of Medicine a few years ago, but every
two months I get a renewal notice as if I had been a subscriber all along.
I'm not saying I can prove that the AMA is doing this with
the same intent, but why would they keep it up for so long?
Also, I wonder how much money they waste mailing these
notices.
According to recent figures, only about 17% (217,000) of all
US doctors and medical students are AMA members, 25% of them are over 65 years
old and enrollment is flat.
I'm not sure why anyone belongs. Any ideas?
