History of ABFM

Founded in February 1969, the American Board of Family Medicine (formally American Board of Family Practice or ABFP) was approved by the Liaison Commission for Specialty Boards (LCSB), the group that reviews and approves applications for American Board of Medical Specialties boards (ABMS).

Dr. Nicholas J. Pisacano was the founding executive director of ABFP and Dr. John G. Walsh was named as the first president. Established to serve the public, ABFM became the 20th medical specialty to be recognized by ABMS and subsequently committed to a vision of ensuring optimal health care for all people and communities that family physicians serve.

Rooted in a culture of innovation and the idea that family medicine was quite different than other specialties, ABFM founders led the way in their vision of a board that would be distinct from others with pivotal decisions that would shape the board as we know it today. Decisions include:

• All Diplomates would require ongoing certification and examination.
• First ABMS specialty board to issue time-limited certificates.
• Adding a component of chart audits—underscoring that physician practice had to be reviewed regularly.
• Inclusion of specialty members and the public on ABFM’s board of directors to consider different perspectives and to hold ABFM accountable to the interests of the public, family physicians, and the specialty.
• Holding family physicians to the same standard of knowledge for initial certification and recertification.
• Expansion of information technology to support the transition from a “pen and pencil” exam format to one that was digital and would pave the way for future technical advancements.
• Establishment of a research enterprise with a mission to assess the impact of maintenance of certification on quality of care and outcomes, and to advance the mission of ABFM and the specialty of family medicine.
• Providing a longitudinal assessment as an alternative to the one-day exam that provides both a summative and formative assessment.

As society and health care continued to change over the years, the need to “re-envision” board recertification in the context of the modern-day physician and their practice was essential to ensure it remained meaningful and relevant. ABFM focused its efforts on helping physicians in their continuous learning and professional development and how to evolve standards to support the next generation of family physicians – all of this was done to contribute to the vision of safe and high-quality health care for the public.

Today, more than 50 years later, ABFM has continued to evolve. ABFM is not only at the forefront of assessment and professional certification but works to advance the specialty of family medicine and the family physician.