Declarations of Support
Following are declarations of support for the vision and recommendations put forth in the Future of Family Medicine Project report. These come from a variety of medical specialty organizations, medical education groups, an international medical group, a consumer interest group and a governmental agency. Those providing support include:
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)
- AARP
- American Cancer Society (ACS)
- American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP)
- American College of Physicians - Internal Medicine (ACP)
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
- Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences (IOM)
- National Alliance for Hispanic Health (NAHH)
- Walter J. McDonald MD, MACP; EVP of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies
- The World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca )
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D.
Director
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
"The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) salutes the Family Medicine community on the publication of their landmark report, The Future of Family Medicine: A Collaborative Project of the Family Medicine Community. This report and its recommendations will have far-reaching implications for the future of family medicine and all who strive to provide optimal primary health care services.
"In particular, the AAP supports Family Medicine's goal to ensure that physicians are specifically trained 'to provide culturally effective and proficient care in a variety of settings' and stands ready to work with the AAFP and its partners in this critical endeavor.
"The AAP is pleased to see a recommendation devoted to 'Lifelong Learning"'(Recommendation #4). The AAP, through our participation in The Future of Pediatric Education II Project, similarly concluded that 'continuous personal, professional, and clinical practice assessment and improvement' is vital to the future of medicine."
Joe M. Sanders Jr., MD, FAAP
Executive Director
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)
"The Family Medicine community began this work with the intent to shape the future of Family Medicine. What it produced is a blueprint that will shape the future of health care. The New Model for Family Medicine continues the primary care tradition of centering on the patient. It also boldly calls for extending the role of the practice to incorporate a team of providers in order to provide a comprehensive, accountable and integrated approach to care.
"As one of the external professional organizations that participated in the development of this report, the physician assistant profession recognizes that the compelling vision presented will dramatically advance the delivery of medical care in this country.
"The commitment to working in the context of health care teams has been one of the hallmarks of this profession, and we are encouraged to see Family Medicine wholeheartedly embrace this collegial relationship. The AAPA looks forward to working with the Family Medicine community on the implementation of this most important work in the years to come."
Stephen Crane, PhD, MPH
Executive Vice President
American Academy of Physician Assistants
AARP
"On behalf of AARP's 36 million members age 50 and older, we applaud the vision and the recommendations outlined in the Future of Family Medicine report. Our members are acutely aware of the growing fragmentation of our health care system. They deeply appreciate and value the patient-centered, holistic approach incorporated in the best practices of family medicine.
"The report's blueprint for the future outlines the critically important issues of quality assurance, healthcare costs and leadership in broad health reform, all based on the philosophy of patient-centered care. Patients themselves have a role in achieving this vision, and we look forward to working collaboratively with family medicine leaders to transform American medical care for the better. This report is not only worthwhile reading, it is a call to action for everyone involved in giving and receiving medical services."
Bill Novelli
CEO
AARP
American Cancer Society (ACS)
"Family physicians are critical to our nations efforts to decrease cancer incidence and mortality. Their unique role with their patients allows them to turn awareness into action by addressing cancer prevention and early detection as part of their commitment to excellence in care. Family physicians have the ability to influence patients' lifestyle behaviors in ways that can significantly reduce cancer risk.
"Family physicians are also on the front lines in caring for cancer patients and survivors. Throughout treatment and beyond, they comfort patients and their families in their hour of need. And as more and more people triumph over the disease and return to active lives, family physicians will play an increasingly important role as leaders of the health care teams that help improve quality of life for cancer survivors.
"The American Cancer Society applauds the Family Medicine community's efforts to analyze and maximize the contribution of family medicine to address the needs of patients and their families, and to develop a comprehensive approach to improving the health of our nation."
Ralph B. Vance, MD, FACP
President
American Cancer Society, Inc.
American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP)
"The American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians joins in advocating that our specialty is best qualified to serve as the focal point through which individuals will more effectively access the increasingly complex U.S. health care system. By addressing access, quality, technology, education and workforce issues, the Future of Family Medicine Project's groundbreaking research and recommendations will realign how the specialty of family medicine meets the fundamental health care needs of patients for many years to come."
M. Jay Porcelli, DO
President
American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians
American College of Physicians - Internal Medicine (ACP)
"The American College of Physicians congratulates the Family Medicine organizations that initiated and developed the Future of Family Medicine Project, a substantial and ambitious undertaking that attempts to clearly define family medicine and the roles it will play in the delivery of health care. The recommendations in this comprehensive report are based on the best available evidence.
"A New Model of practice using a system-based approach to provide safe, high quality patient care is the intended product. Patients will be cared for by well-trained family physicians delivering patient-centered care in redesigned modern offices that will have the capacity to adjust to the inevitable changes in medical practice. All of primary care should benefit from this important work."
John Tooker, MD, MBA, FACP
Executive Vice President/Chief Executive Officer
American College of Physicians - Internal Medicine
American Medical Association (AMA)
"In 1966, the American Medical Association published two seminal reports -- from the Millis Commission and the Willard Committee -- calling for a reinvention of the generalist function in medicine and for general practice to become family medicine. Multiple training programs in family practice were spawned and now, 38 years later, there are almost 500 accredited training programs and 67,000 board certified family physicians.
"But these are difficult times for primary care specialties. Managed care creates new demands while reimbursements have dwindled. Medical students have a wide choice and other specialties are currently more popular. And yet these are times of great potential. Despite the U.S. population's fascination with science and technology, patients value an individual relationship with a physician who knows them as a person and who understands the social context of their lives. And although burgeoning medical knowledge creates new challenges for comprehensive care, information technology is making critical clinical information more accessible to both patients and their doctors.
"Facing these challenges and opportunities, the specialty's leadership initiated the Future of Family Medicine Project to chart the course of the specialty into the 21st century. What has emerged preserves the core values of the specialty while creating a blueprint for the future."
Herman I. Abromowitz, MD
Secretary-Treasurer
American Medical Association
1. "The Graduate Education of Physicians: The Report of the Citizens Commission on Graduate Medical Education"; Chicago, IL; American Medical Association; 1966
2. "Meeting the Challenge of Family Practice: The Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Education for Family Practice of the Council on Medical Education"; Chicago IL; American Medical Association; 1966.
American Osteopathic Association (AOA)
"The American Osteopathic Association (AOA), founded on providing primary care services to Americans and treating the whole patient, supports the plan of action presented in the Future of Family Medicine Project report. The AOA is committed to collaborating on improving the quality of health care in the United States.
The Future of Family Medicine report provides a blueprint to improve the quality of primary care services in the United States. The report makes 10 recommendations to improve healthcare quality, including the development of an electronic health record to improve care and reduce errors, greater integration of family medicine within academic health centers, and greater collaboration within family medicine to address quality goals outlined by the Institute of Medicine report. The AOA recommends this document as 'must reading' for those interested in improving the quality of care in the United States."
Darryl A. Beehler, DO
President
American Osteopathic Association
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
"All of those involved in the Future of Family Medicine Project are to be congratulated for investing their time and effort in this historic project. We are particularly pleased to see that the Project leadership committee recognizes that modifications may be needed in the way family physicians are trained during residency to deliver the New Model of care.
"The Family Medicine community has indicated support for a process that will foster innovation in the design and conduct of Family Medicine residency programs. The report identifies important issues that need attention, and by doing so, has set family medicine on a path that will lead to improvements in the care provided to the general population by family physicians."
Michael Whitcomb, MD
Senior Vice President for Medical Education
Association of American Medical Colleges
Institute of Medicine (IOM)
"Americans do not consistently receive the quality of care they deserve. If a patient is under medical management for a chronic condition in America, that person has only about a fifty-fifty chance of receiving all the care they need. Every year, medical errors take the lives of tens of thousands of hospitalized patients in the United States. While we pride ourselves on the capacity of American medicine to deliver the most technologically sophisticated care available anywhere, we often fail to provide continuous, evidence-based, patient-centered care. We can do better.
"Two reports from the Institute of Medicine, To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), set the stage for renewed efforts to enhance the safety and quality of health care in America. These reports call for a fundamental remaking of the systems of medical care so as to provide care that is safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable. The task requires action at many levels, from policy on payment that promotes quality to a modern health information infrastructure to professional education.
"No one has a more central role in the transformation of medical care than the health professionals who care for patients. As individual practitioners and as a community committed to quality, health professionals can take the lead in improving health care in America. This initiative in the field of family medicine to promote higher quality care, the Future of Family Medicine Project, serves as a model for all professionals who seek to transform medical care for the better."
V. Fineberg, MD, PhD
President
Institute of Medicine
National Academy of Sciences
March of Dimes
"The March of Dimes recognizes the important role of family physicians in providing family and specifically maternal and child care. The March of Dimes is enthusiastic about the Future of Family Medicine initiative, and we look forward to continuing our work with family physicians on appropriate training and education programs that promote maternal and child health towards our mutual goal of improving the health of all Americans."
March of Dimes
National Alliance for Hispanic Health (NAHH)
"The National Alliance for Hispanic Health offers its full support for the findings and recommendations of the Future of Family Medicine (FFM) Project report. Bringing together the leading national family medicine organizations, FFM has performed a national service in setting a common agenda that places the patient-provider relationship at the center of medicine. The FFM report builds on the best of the science and art of medicine while working towards a future of health for all.
"By highlighting the changing demographics of the country, the FFM report has made a strong case for the vital role that cultural proficiency plays in improving the medical education system and the patient-provider relationship. The FFM report also details the important role that new technology plays in improved health and recognizes that the promise of technology can only be realized when all have access to a medical home and have a strong patient-provider relationship built on trust and continuity of care. The FFM report is an important guidepost on the road to a new model of health and family medical practice."
Jane L. Delgado, PhD, MS
President and CEO
National Alliance for Hispanic Health
Walter J. McDonald MD, MAC
"As a long-time observer of the U.S. health care system, I have become increasingly amazed at its evolution. The system, despite its triumphs, has evolved into a complex, fragmented maze that has left too many patients and physicians in a state of discouragement. The issues are complex and intertwined and have resulted in a disconnect between patients and the profession.
"The Future of Family Medicine Project has taken on the monumental task of focusing the dialogue on how to repair this condition. By emphasizing patient-centered, integrated, evidence-based, high-quality care; professionalism; and the underserved, they seek to restore the traditional alliance between patients and doctors. The primary care physician is a critical part of the equation. Other primary care specialties as well as the subspecialties would do well to read this document and engage in the discussion. In so doing, we will begin the process of restoring some order to the health care system."
Walter J. McDonald MD, MACP
Executive Vice President
Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS)
The World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca)
"The World Organization of Family Doctors (acronym Wonca) heartily congratulates the leadership of the seven National Organizations of Family Medicine in the USA for their wisdom and foresight in initiating the Future of Family Medicine ( FFM ) Project in 2002.
"The issues that the Project had set out to address are also issues that concern a good majority of the Member Organizations of Wonca globally. These issues constitute a significant part of all Wonca regional and international conferences and will undoubtedly continue to dominate the agenda in all future meetings. Particularly the issues of the relevance of Family Medicine as a discipline and specialty in the context of present day healthcare delivery systems, the core attributes and values of family medicine, the issues of training and enhancing standards of practice, the need for research in the discipline, the importance of quality assurance and evidence based medicine and the need to provide leadership roles in the shaping of national health care policies, are issues for which Wonca will likely refer to the final report of the FFM Project for resource and guidance.
"The 10 final recommendations of the FFM report are all encompassing in its prescription. They are also very applicable, achievable and patient-centered with health care cost and quality of care very much in mind. The recommendation to establish a Leadership Center for Family Medicine and Primary Care to promote family physicians and other primary care physicians as leaders in health policy and research in government establishments and the community is a timely and very proactive move and should be an example for family physician organizations in other parts of the world to study and adopt."
Dr Alfred WT Loh
Chief Executive Officer
The World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca)
Emphasis added by Future of Family Medicine Project