 |
FAQs |
|
FFM Challenges Poster |
|
What Can I Do? |
What Can I Do?
The Future of Family Medicine report, published as a Supplement to the March 30, 2004, issue of the Annals of Family Medicine has been referred to as a "Compass Heading," rather than a blueprint. It provides direction, but not edicts, to transform and renew the specialty of family medicine to meet people's needs in a changing health care environment.
Family Medicine's Challenges
The recommendations in the FFM report respond to one or more of family medicine's five current challenges:
- Creating public understanding of family medicine
- Organizing individuality of practices into a coherent, recognized brand
- Winning respect in academic circles
- Making family medicine an attractive career choice
- Leading in including science and technology in practice
New Model
The New Model of Practice consists of eleven elements, including a:
- Personal Medical Home for everyone in America.
- Continuous Healing Relationship with a Family Physician.
- Consistent Basket of Services that patients can come to expect from the practice of family medicine.
Strategic Initiatives
The AAFP had volunteered to lead the national organizations of family medicine in the planning and implementation of several of the ten FFM Strategic Initiatives, including:
- The New Model of Practice
- Electronic Health Records
- Communication Strategies
- Life-long Learning for Family Physicians
- Quality of Care
- Leadership and Advocacy
Other national organizations of family medicine are also leading strategic initiatives:
- Training of Family Physicians for the New Model of Practice (AFPRD)
- The Pipeline - Student Interest and the Family Physician Workforce (STFM)
- Family Medicine's Role in Academic Health Centers (ADFM)
- Enhancing the Science of Family Medicine (ADFM)
In addition, the AAFP is managing the sixth FFM Task Force on Financing and Reimbursement. The charge of Task Force #6 is to develop proposals to enhance financial support to the practices of family physicians so that the New Model practices will thrive, and so that the practice of family medicine will be reimbursed consistent with its value to the health care system. TF #6 will report in the summer of 2004.
What Can I Do
- Discuss the FFM report and recommendations, with colleagues, online at the TRACK section of the Annals of Family Medicine Web site and at local meetings.
- Discover and promote best practices in implementing elements of the FFM recommendations.
- Invite others to come along into our future, lead or follow, but let's work together to transform and renew the specialty of family medicine to meet people's needs in a changing health care environment.
Contact
FFM history, background, strategies, research results, slides, videos, etc.
The FFM Final Report, Task Force Reports, Methodology, discussion forum
Staff Executive - Norman B. Kahn, Jr., MD, AAFP
Assistant Staff Executive - Sarah Thomas, AAFP
Deputy Staff Executive - Larry Green MD, AAFP
Project Manager - Marilyn McMillen, MBA, AAFP
Future of Family Medicine Project
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the specialty embark on this project?
We heard the frustrations of family physicians and their patients who were burdened with the increasing fragmentation of the health care system. At the national level, serious health policy issues appear to be intractable. A large proportion of the population lacks health insurance, almost 20 percent 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. The adequacy of the health care workforce is uncertain. Disparities in health and health care have been confirmed. Researchers are sounding the alarm about medical errors in all health care settings. And accelerating health care spending is causing concern, with a return to double-digit price escalation in health insurance premiums during a period of economic slump.
What did the research indicate?
There is a pervasive need and desire for family physicians and the personal, integrated care they provide, not only among individual patients, but also among the broader health care and business communities.
What are the recommendations in the report?
Ten recommendations, covering the following topics, provide a framework to guide innovation in the future: a New Model of practice, electronic health records, family medicine education, lifelong learning, enhancement of the science of family medicine, quality of care, role of family medicine in academic health centers, promotion of a sufficient family medicine workforce, communications, and leadership and advocacy. Please read the report carefully and in its entirety to fully understand the origins of these recommendations.
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 10 recommendations, including the top three priority areas the New Model of practice, electronic health records and communications.
What organizations have sponsored this project?
The seven organizations are the 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 and Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.
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 facts that family medicine is neither obsolete nor 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 of 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), describing the New Model. It has 11 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 medicines 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 of the National Academy of Sciences, National Alliance for Hispanic Health and the World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca). You can read these organizations' declarations of support on the FFM Web site.