For immediate release: April 24, 2025
The American Academy of Family Physicians is increasingly concerned with efforts at the state and federal level to interfere with the patient-physician relationship and encroach on the autonomy of physicians.
The AAFP stands firmly against any policies that criminalize physicians and medical care, threaten the patient-physician relationship and inhibit the delivery of medical care and education. It is a dangerous precedent to allow individuals without medical training to make decisions affecting clinical and medical practice. Physicians must be able to practice evidence-based medicine in consultation with the patients they serve, and medical educators must be able to prepare the next generation of physicians without interference.
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About American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 128,300 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the largest medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits — that’s 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the specialty of family medicine and the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, visit www.aafp.org. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.