REPORT OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES
BOT Report 8-A-07
Subject: TMA Physician Directory and Resource Guide
Presented by: C. Bruce Malone, MD, Chair
At its February 2007 meeting, the board approved a proposal to discontinue the printed TMA Physician Directory and Resource Guide and direct members to alternatives such as the TMA Web site " Find a Physician ," county medical society directories , and the TMA Knowledge Center .
Many problems plagued the development of the printed directory.
The printed directory was months out-of-date the day it shipped to members. With the universal move to online directories, printing companies with the staff and resources to produce a large directory are disappearing. The 2006-08 directory was five months late because the vendor went out of business while TMA's directory was in his shop. That means the membership information was five months old when members received it; new members joining during that period were not listed; and the information on members who had changed addresses, phone numbers, etc., was incorrect.
Advertising and sales revenues have declined steadily in recent years while marketing costs have remained steady and staff support costs have increased significantly.
Member requests for free printed directories dropped appreciably over the past few years, from 13,150 in 2003 to 4,300 in 2006.
Cost to produce and distribute the printed directory began to surpass the revenue generated by advertising and sales to nonmembers.
Alternatives to the printed directory
Of the 4,300 members who requested the 2006-08 directory, 1,450 have e-mail addresses and can access both the TMA Folio and the TMA Web site "Find a Physician" feature. TMA will develop online tutorials to educate members about how to use the TMA Folio as well as how to update their member information, order online publications, and "find a physician" on the TMA Web site. To promote use of online alternatives, TMA will develop print ads and editorials in Texas Medicine , Action , and News of Interest .
Members without Internet access will be directed to the TMA Knowledge Center, where staff can look up a specific member's information; direct members to their county medical societies for the society's printed directory; or, if the member lives in a county that does not publish a directory, provide a "print-on-demand" directory of that member's county medical society.
TMA House of Delegates: TexMed 2007
Last Updated On
July 07, 2010
Originally Published On
March 23, 2010