The directory is published as a collaboration of the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER).
[2] For the database, a "medical school" is defined as an "educational institution that provides a complete or full program of instruction leading to basic medical qualification; that is, a qualification that permits the holder to obtain a license to practice as a medical doctor or physician".
[4] The World Health Organization (WHO) originally published the World Directory of Medical Schools from 1953 to 2007 before transferring responsibility to the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME), which renamed it the AVICENNA Directory for Medicine.
A separate International Medical Education Directory (IMED) was published by the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) since 2002.
[5] The new World Directory of Medical Schools officially launched in April 2014, managed by both WFME and FAIMER.