ABFM Releases First Edition of its Family Medicine Factbook

ABFM is excited to present its first edition of the Family Medicine Factbook, a curated series of basic analyses intended to provide a broad perspective on family medicine and family physicians themselves.

ABFM conducts regular surveys of family physicians across multiple points in their training and practice careers, not only during and shortly after completion of residency training, but when they complete continuous certification cycles. These surveys are unique for many reasons, including their exceptional response rates. Furthermore, their analyses are used to inform not only ABFM and Diplomates, but also policymakers, planners, and the public about the remarkable work of family physicians and their teams. Survey data have been pivotal in advancing funding for family physicians and primary care, a better understanding of the discipline and its needs, and improving patient and population health.

Findings from these surveys tell us what family physicians are doing in practice, how it is changing over time, and who they are serving and working with. The findings also tell us how they are adapting to changes in the external environment, such as payment reform, team-based care, digital health adoption, consolidation of delivery systems, and even the pandemic. A range of stories have emerged from the ABFM research team’s use of these data over the past decade. For example, after documenting the rapidly declining scope of family medicine, survey responses revealed that a broader scope of practice, and particularly provision of obstetrical care, may be protective against physician burnout. Family physicians are among the leaders in value-based care transformation efforts, advocating for metrics that improve population health and promote health equity.

“Family Medicine is the largest primary care discipline and the physician specialty with the widest distribution and broadest scope of practice in America, and yet poorly understood in an increasingly fragmented and subspecialized health system, said ABFM Senior Vice President of Research and Policy Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH. “The data that ABFM gathers and carefully stewards from its Diplomates, as reflected in our research and policy efforts, and this Factbook, are intended to advance understanding of our discipline and all that it can do to improve U.S. patient and population health.”

We hope that patients, physicians, payors, policymakers, and advocates will benefit from learning more about this keystone specialty of U.S. primary care. Follow us along on social media for Family Medicine Factbook Friday (#FMFactbookFriday), where we will share important findings from the Factbook. Read the Factbook now: https://familymedicinefactbook.org/