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FAQs |
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FFM Challenges Poster |
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What Can I Do? |
FAQs
Who sponsored this project?
American Academy of Family Physicians
AAFP Foundation, American Board of Family Practice
Association of Departments of Family Medicine
Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors
North American Primary Care Research Group
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
Why did you embark on this project?
At the national level, serious health policy issues appear to be intractable. A large proportion of the population lacks health insurance, almost 20% of the population lacks a usual source of care, the public health infrastructure remains weak, and mental health care struggles for recognition and parity. Health care is highly fragmented rather than seamlessly integrated. There exist renewed uncertainty about the adequacy of the health care workforce, confirmation of important disparities in health and health care, alarm about medical errors in all health care settings, and concern about accelerating health care spending, with a return to double-digit price escalation in health insurance premiums during a period of economic slump.
What did the research tell you?
There is a pervasive need and desire for family physicians and the personal, integrated care they provide, not only among individual patients, but among the broader health care and business communities as well.
What are the recommendations in the report?
Ten recommendations provide a framework to guide innovation in the future: New Model of practice; electronic health records; family medicine education; lifelong learning; enhancing the science of family medicine; quality of care; role of family medicine in academic health centers; promoting a sufficient family medicine workforce; communications; leadership and advocacy. Please read the report carefully and in its entirety to fully understand the origins of these recommendations.
What are these recommendations based on?
Five major challenges were identified that will influence family medicine's future viability:
- Promoting a broader, more accurate understanding of the specialty among the public.
- Identifying areas of commonality in a specialty whose strength is its wide scope and locally adapted practice types.
- Winning respect for the specialty in academic circles.
- Making family medicine a more attractive career option.
- Addressing the public's perception hat family medicine is not solidly grounded in science and technology.
- How are these recommendations going to be implemented?
Each of the seven participating organizations has assumed responsibility for enacting the recommendations that fall within its purview. The Academy is taking the leadership role for several of the ten recommendations, including the top three priority areas - New Model of practice, electronic health records and communications.
So in a nutshell, what's this report all about?
This report is about developing a New Model of practice that starts with a personal medical home for our patients, in which they get a continuous healing relationship and an expected basket of services. The report is a compass heading - not a destination. It charts the course for a journey that will lead to greater physician and patient satisfaction. It validates the fact that family medicine is not obsolete or irrelevant, and that the American people are hungry for what family physicians yearn to provide.
What are the specific characteristics of the New Model of practice?
The shortcomings and dissatisfaction with the U.S. health care system provide us with a compelling opportunity to improve the health of the nation and shape our own destinies by redesigning our model of practice. Please see Table 4 in the supplement (page S14). There are ten characteristics: personal medical home; patient-centered care; team approach; elimination of barriers to access; advanced information systems; redesigned offices; whole-person orientation; care provided within a community context; emphasis on quality and safety; enhanced practice finance; commitment to provide family medicine's basket of services.
What do others think about this report?
Declarations of support have been received from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Physician Assistants, AARP, American Cancer Society, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, Institute of Medicine - National Academy of Sciences, National Alliance for Hispanic Health and the World Organization of Family Doctors. View at those reports now.
How can I let you know what I think?
Let us know your thoughts on this report by using the online discussion group at the Annals of Family Medicine and follow the online discussions link.