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 Regional Variation in Scope of Practice by Family Physicians Regional Variation in Scope of Practice by Family Physicians 2025 Author(s) Lambert, Alyssa, Fleischer, Sarah E, Ataç, Ömer, Bazemore, Andrew W, and Peterson, Lars E Topic(s) What Family Physicians Do Volume Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Source Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Introduction: Geographic variation in physician scope of practice (SOP) has been documented but the causes remain unknown. We examined whether geographic variation in family physician (FP) SOP is explained by differences in the characteristics of the FPs, their practices, practice environment, or health care market. Methods: We utilized 2 datasets from the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) from 2017 to 2022. The National Graduate Survey captures early career FPs while the Continuous Certification Questionnaire is administered to mid to late career FPs. We used a SOP score that ranges from 0 to 30 with a larger score reflecting a broader SOP. Bivariate analyses assessed for differences by Census division in clinician, practice, community, and health care market characteristics. A series of multilevel linear regression analyses tested if geographic differences in SOP were attenuated by the aforementioned characteristics. Results: Our analytic included 9,378 early career FPs and 28,832 mid to late career FPs in the unadjusted regression model. We found significant differences in clinician characteristics by division and cohort. In unadjusted results, SOP score differed by division and career stage within division (range 11.49 to 14.95 for later career FPs and 15.22 to 17.51 for early career FPs). Adjusting for clinician, practice, community, and health care market characteristics did not attenuate divisional variation in SOP. Discussion: Significant geographic variation in FP SOP was not explainable by adjustment for clinician, practice, community, and health care market characteristics. This suggests that health care variation is multifactorial and will require more multifaceted interventions to ameliorate. Read More ABFM Research Read all 2016 Shifting Patterns of Physician Home Visits Go to Shifting Patterns of Physician Home Visits 2022 Fostering Generalist Leaders in a Subspecialized World: Congratulations to an Expanded Cohort of New Pisacano Scholars Go to Fostering Generalist Leaders in a Subspecialized World: Congratulations to an Expanded Cohort of New Pisacano Scholars 2018 Response: Re: Wide Gap between Preparation and Scope of Practice of Early Career Family Physicians Go to Response: Re: Wide Gap between Preparation and Scope of Practice of Early Career Family Physicians 2014 Factors influencing family physicians’ contribution to the child health care workforce Go to Factors influencing family physicians’ contribution to the child health care workforce
Author(s) Lambert, Alyssa, Fleischer, Sarah E, Ataç, Ömer, Bazemore, Andrew W, and Peterson, Lars E Topic(s) What Family Physicians Do Volume Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Source Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
ABFM Research Read all 2016 Shifting Patterns of Physician Home Visits Go to Shifting Patterns of Physician Home Visits 2022 Fostering Generalist Leaders in a Subspecialized World: Congratulations to an Expanded Cohort of New Pisacano Scholars Go to Fostering Generalist Leaders in a Subspecialized World: Congratulations to an Expanded Cohort of New Pisacano Scholars 2018 Response: Re: Wide Gap between Preparation and Scope of Practice of Early Career Family Physicians Go to Response: Re: Wide Gap between Preparation and Scope of Practice of Early Career Family Physicians 2014 Factors influencing family physicians’ contribution to the child health care workforce Go to Factors influencing family physicians’ contribution to the child health care workforce
2022 Fostering Generalist Leaders in a Subspecialized World: Congratulations to an Expanded Cohort of New Pisacano Scholars Go to Fostering Generalist Leaders in a Subspecialized World: Congratulations to an Expanded Cohort of New Pisacano Scholars
2018 Response: Re: Wide Gap between Preparation and Scope of Practice of Early Career Family Physicians Go to Response: Re: Wide Gap between Preparation and Scope of Practice of Early Career Family Physicians
2014 Factors influencing family physicians’ contribution to the child health care workforce Go to Factors influencing family physicians’ contribution to the child health care workforce