Personal communication includes materials such as emails from unarchived sources, private memos, or
unrecorded interview conversations. Confidential material may include medical charts, patient health
records, and other internal reports containing private information. As these sources do not provide
recoverable data or access to the data is restricted due to confidentiality, they are cited in-text only;
do not include an entry in the reference list.
- Obtain permission from the source before citing personal communications or information from a
confidential document
- To establish the relevance and authority of the communication, include the highest academic degree or
the professional affiliation of the person being cited
In-text citation
Rule
The citation must include the name of the person communicating, their qualifications or affiliations,
the type of communication, and the date.
Example
In email correspondence, it was confirmed that previously detected inconsistencies had been resolved
(L.Thomas, MD, email communication, February 8, 2021).
… there was no acute infarct seen (P. Wong, MBBS, radiology report, March 6, 2022).
According to the manufacturer (H. E. Lim, PhD, Pharma Global, internal company document, June 23,
2022), the immunisation will...
In a letter from M. Smith, MD on February 8, 2020, it was suggested...
The AMA Manual of Style Chapter 3.13.10 has further details about personal communications.
Unpublished, confidential reports should be treated similarly. Do not confuse these types of materials
with unpublished materials mentioned previously in Chapter 3.13.9.