Good afternoon, everyone.
Thank you for electing me and giving me the privilege of serving as your president-elect. It’s been an incredible year, and I’m honored to now step into the role of your president. We’ve made good progress in the last 12 months and laid some important groundwork, and I’m eager to share what we’ve accomplished and where we’re headed next.
When I spoke to you during last year’s Congress of Delegates, I focused on three critical issues facing family physicians today: payment, administrative burden, and well-being. Since then, the AAFP has made great strides on all three fronts. And while there is still more to be done, I want to take a moment and share some of our progress.
We know that family medicine is one of the hardest, most complex roles in healthcare, and we are beginning to see recognition of the value of primary care. The Kids’ Access to Primary Care Act is just one example of the progress we’ve made, advocating for Medicaid payment parity with Medicare rates. Beyond that, the AAFP has been pushing for comprehensive payment reform at both the federal and state levels. Our efforts with the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule have helped highlight how outdated payment models fail to reflect the value we bring to our patients and communities. This is a battle we will continue to fight until every family physician is compensated fairly for the care we provide, no matter where or how we practice.
Administrative burden is another area where we’ve been pushing hard for change. I don’t have to tell you how frustrating it can be to spend precious time on paperwork instead of patient care. This year, the AAFP led efforts to simplify prior authorizations—ensuring that once a treatment is approved, that authorization stays valid as long as medically necessary. These changes are making a real difference in our day-to-day work. And we’re not stopping there. I’m excited to share that the AAFP has launched a groundbreaking new project focused on digital health and artificial intelligence (AI). This initiative will explore how AI can revolutionize family medicine in five key areas: identifying how AI is already impacting primary care, discovering where AI can enhance practice operations, and pinpointing ways it can improve our clinical care. We’re also focused on guiding innovators toward high-impact solutions and exploring how AI can transform medical education and lifelong learning. This project has the potential to reshape our work, reducing administrative burden even further and freeing us to spend more time on what truly matters—caring for our patients.
We’ve also made progress in reshaping the healthcare system to support physician well-being—specifically through our commitment to the quintuple aim. We’ve not only advocated for better health outcomes, improved patient experiences, and lower costs, but we’ve also made health equity and physician well-being central to our vision. Over the past year, we’ve expanded the Leading Physician Well-Being Program, training more family physicians to lead change within their own workplaces and help address burnout. This program is just one part of our broader commitment to ensuring that physician health is prioritized alongside patient care.
And we’re building on that momentum. This coming year, we’re launching something even bigger—a new, three-year strategic plan for the AAFP, set to start in 2025. This plan will drive everything we do as an organization, and it reflects the collective voice of family physicians from across the country. It’s designed to address the challenges we face while also embracing new opportunities to lead and shape the future of healthcare. This plan is ambitious, and I’m excited to share it with you during the opening session of FMX.
At the heart of this work is a deep belief in the power of family medicine. Our specialty is one that unites us, across practice settings, states, and even generations. We are the physicians who care for patients of every age, who build relationships with families, and who help shape healthier communities. It’s work that matters—deeply—and it’s work we are committed to doing well.
Thank you for your trust, your passion, and your partnership. We’ve already accomplished a lot, and I’m confident that this next year our efforts will be even more impactful. Let’s keep moving forward—together.