The ABFM fully supports the use of certification as a means to eliminate the need for family physicians to meet burdensome privileging and credentialing requirements. However, no family physician who is not certified by the ABFM should be denied privileges or credentials if they can otherwise demonstrate their ability to provide high-quality care.

Research has continually shown a decade-long decline in the scope of practice of family physicians, despite residency training designed to encompass all areas of primary care, obstetrics, impatient and ambulatory care. These findings raise questions about whether there is a lack of training, a lack of practice, or employer restrictions that limit opportunities for family physicians.


Using data collected from the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) as part of the certification examination application, the authors, Erika K. Schuster, BS and Lars E. Peterson, MD, PhD assessed residents’ Population Health Management (PHM) preparedness via a single, self-reported question.


The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is pleased to announce a change to the certification requirements, which will now allow osteopathic family physicians who have completed three years of accredited family medicine residency training in either AOA programs or AOA programs that have received ACGME preaccreditation or initial accreditation to apply for certification with the ABFM. The eligibility period for osteopathic family physicians will begin in 2018 and conclude at the end of 2022.


The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has selected Tammy Chang, MD, MPH, MS as the 2017 James C. Puffer, MD/American Board of Family Medicine Fellow. Dr. Chang is an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is one of five outstanding health professionals selected for the class of 2017 NAM Fellows.


The American Board of Family Medicine's (ABFM) Board of Directors has selected Warren Newton, MD, MPH to become its next President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Dr. James C. Puffer upon his retirement. Dr. Newton will serve in the position of President and CEO Elect beginning July 1, 2018 until Dr. Puffer’s retirement at the end of 2018. Upon assuming the role of President and CEO on January 1, 2019, Dr. Newton will oversee the ABFM, as well as the ABFM Foundation and Pisacano Leadership Foundation.
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Using data collected from the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) as part of the resident certification examination application, the authors, Tomoko Sairenji, MD, MS, Mingliang Dai, PhD, Aimee R. Eden, PhD, Lars E. Peterson, MD, PhD, and Arch G. Mainous, III, PhD, assessed the proportion of family medicine residency graduates intending to pursue fellowship training or another year of residency training if it were available.


Robert L. Phillips, Jr, MD, MSPH, Vice-President of Research and Policy for the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), discusses the shift in family medicine residents joining larger health systems over small or solo family medicine practices. 


While some studies have shown that family physicians’ scope of practice may be shrinking, a recent study, which included researchers from Oregon Health & Science University and the American Board of Family Medicine, indicates graduates of residencies engaged in significant educational redesign report a broad scope of practice.


The authors, Julie Phillips MD, MPH; Lars E. Peterson MD, PhD; Bo Fang PhD; Iris Kovar-Gough MA, MLIS; Robert L. Phillips Jr. MD, MSPH, used de-identified data from the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) examination registration questionnaire, which is required of all residents applying for board certification.  Results showed 4.4% residents had either obtained military support or enrolled in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). 


The authors, Julie Phillips MD, MPH; Lars E. Peterson MD, PhD; Bo Fang PhD; Iris Kovar-Gough MA, MLIS; Robert L. Phillips Jr. MD, MSPH, used de-identified data from the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) examination registration questionnaire, which is required of all residents applying for board certification. Results showed 4.4% residents had either obtained military support or enrolled in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC).


The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is pleased to announce the election of four new officers and four new board members. The new officers elected at the ABFM’s spring board meeting in April are: Elizabeth Baxley, MD of Greenville, North Carolina elected as Chair; Jerry Kruse, MD of Springfield, Illinois as Chair-Elect; Montgomery Douglas, MD of West Hartford, Connecticut as Treasurer, and Joseph Gravel, Jr., MD of Lawrence, Massachusetts as Member-at-Large, Executive Committee.


The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is pleased to announce over 1600 clinicians submitted data to the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) through the ABFM’s online submission process and through the PRIME Patient Data Registry.


In recent weeks, some physicians have been experiencing problems with the ABFM Exam Prep app. Apple pushed two updates out to iPhone users. These updates caused our app to begin to malfunction in various ways. The developers have updated the app and this new version was released in the first week in April. The new version works quite well when users have updated both their operating system and the Exam Prep app, but iPhone users may still experience bugs when only one is updated.


Please download the statement [PDF 76KB] from the American Board of Family Medicine regarding the recently signed Executive Order titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, which restricted travel into the U.S. from seven specified countries.


The ABFM’s new Continuous Knowledge Self-Assessment (CKSA), a self-assessment and lifelong learning activity, will launch on January 19, 2017. The CKSA is designed to deliver a set of 25 questions each quarter. There is no passing or failing for this activity. After independently completing 100 CKSA questions, a performance report will be provided to the physician summarizing their results by certification examination blueprint categories to help family physicians identify gaps in their knowledge.

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