Diplomate Spotlight Opening Doors with Board Certification: A Conversation with Long Standing Diplomate Joseph Cook Read Opening Doors with Board Certification: A Conversation with Long Standing Diplomate Joseph Cook
Phoenix Newsletter - July 2025 Available Now: 2026 5-Year Cycle Registration Read Available Now: 2026 5-Year Cycle Registration
Home Research Research Library Health is Primary: Family Medicine for America’s Health Health is Primary: Family Medicine for America’s Health 2014 Author(s) Phillips, Robert L, Pugno, Perry A, Saultz, John W, Tuggy, Michael L, Borkan, Jeffrey M, Hoekzema, Grant S, DeVoe, Jennifer E, Weida, Jane A, Peterson, Lars E, Hughes, Lauren S, Kruse, Jerry E, and Puffer, James C Topic(s) Education & Training, Family Medicine Certification, and What Family Physicians Do Volume Annals of Family Medicine Source Annals of Family Medicine PURPOSE More than a decade ago the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, American Board of Family Medicine, Association of Departments of Family Medicine, Association of Family Practice Residency Directors, North American Primary Care Research Group, and Society of Teachers of Family Medicine came together in the Future of Family Medicine (FFM) to launch a series of strategic efforts to “renew the specialty to meet the needs of people and society,” some of which bore important fruit. Family Medicine for America’s Health was launched in 2013 to revisit the role of family medicine in view of these changes and to position family medicine with new strategic and communication plans to create better health, better health care, and lower cost for patients and communities (the Triple Aim). METHODS Family Medicine for America’s Health was preceded and guided by the development of a family physician role definition. A consulting group facilitated systematic strategic plan development over 9 months that included key informant interviews, formal stakeholder surveys, future scenario testing, a retreat for family medicine organizations and stakeholder representatives to review strategy options, further strategy refinement, and finally a formal strategic plan with draft tactics and design for an implementation plan. A second communications consulting group surveyed diverse stakeholders in coordination with strategic planning to develop a communication plan. The American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians joined the effort, and students, residents, and young physicians were included. RESULTS The core strategies identified include working to ensure broad access to sustained, primary care relationships; accountability for increasing primary care value in terms of cost and quality; a commitment to helping reduce health care disparities; moving to comprehensive payment and away from fee-for-service; transformation of training; technology to support effective care; improving research underpinning primary care; and actively engaging patients, policy makers, and payers to develop an understanding of the value of primary care. The communications plan, called Health is Primary, will complement these strategies. Eight family medicine organizations have pledged nearly $20 million and committed representatives to a multiyear implementation team that will coordinate these plans in a much more systematic way than occurred with FFM. CONCLUSIONS Family Medicine for America’s Health is a new commitment by 8 family medicine organizations to strategically align work to improve practice models, payment, technology, workforce and education, and research to support the Triple Aim. It is also a humble invitation to patients and to clinical and policy partners to collaborate in making family medicine even more effective. ABFM Research Read all 2013 A small percentage of family physicians report time devoted to research Go to A small percentage of family physicians report time devoted to research 2018 Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity Go to Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity 2024 Timing of Certification Stage Completion Associated with Subsequent Certification Exam Outcomes Among Board-Certified Family Physicians Go to Timing of Certification Stage Completion Associated with Subsequent Certification Exam Outcomes Among Board-Certified Family Physicians 2016 Maintenance of Certification, Medicare Quality Reporting, and Quality of Diabetes Care Go to Maintenance of Certification, Medicare Quality Reporting, and Quality of Diabetes Care
Author(s) Phillips, Robert L, Pugno, Perry A, Saultz, John W, Tuggy, Michael L, Borkan, Jeffrey M, Hoekzema, Grant S, DeVoe, Jennifer E, Weida, Jane A, Peterson, Lars E, Hughes, Lauren S, Kruse, Jerry E, and Puffer, James C Topic(s) Education & Training, Family Medicine Certification, and What Family Physicians Do Volume Annals of Family Medicine Source Annals of Family Medicine
ABFM Research Read all 2013 A small percentage of family physicians report time devoted to research Go to A small percentage of family physicians report time devoted to research 2018 Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity Go to Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity 2024 Timing of Certification Stage Completion Associated with Subsequent Certification Exam Outcomes Among Board-Certified Family Physicians Go to Timing of Certification Stage Completion Associated with Subsequent Certification Exam Outcomes Among Board-Certified Family Physicians 2016 Maintenance of Certification, Medicare Quality Reporting, and Quality of Diabetes Care Go to Maintenance of Certification, Medicare Quality Reporting, and Quality of Diabetes Care
2013 A small percentage of family physicians report time devoted to research Go to A small percentage of family physicians report time devoted to research
2018 Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity Go to Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity
2024 Timing of Certification Stage Completion Associated with Subsequent Certification Exam Outcomes Among Board-Certified Family Physicians Go to Timing of Certification Stage Completion Associated with Subsequent Certification Exam Outcomes Among Board-Certified Family Physicians
2016 Maintenance of Certification, Medicare Quality Reporting, and Quality of Diabetes Care Go to Maintenance of Certification, Medicare Quality Reporting, and Quality of Diabetes Care