Results (81 Total)
Teresa Lovins, M.D., FAAFP, writes that owning her own direct primary care practice has given her the time she needs with patients in clinic and the satisfaction of practicing on her own terms.
The Board of Directors last year launched an effort to ensure that the Academy’s member constituency groups are organized to meet members' needs, and members now have two opportunities to share feedback.
This week, the Academy’s Board chair, president and president-elect sat down with lawmakers and congressional staff to lay out the AAFP’s top priorities.
The AAFP is following up on a new executive order affecting the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and CMMI’s announcement that it’s terminating two primary care models.
Mikala Cessac was uncertain about her specialty until she noticed a trend. Wherever she went to do work that was important to her, whether in a free clinic or her state Capitol, family physicians also were there taking action to make a difference for patients. She shares her story in this Match Week post.
Conversations with members affirm that the AAFP must be a strong voice for the essential values that family physicians share, EVP and CEO Shawn Martin says in this video blog.
AAFP President Jen Brull, M.D., FAAFP, introduces Be Their First, a major new effort that the Board of Directors undertook last summer to spark the joy of family medicine in medical students’ hearts and keep it alive through Match.
Family physicians depend on HHS for guidance, research and support. The AAFP is telling policymakers that gutting the agency is likely to hurt public health.
AAFP President-elect Sarah Nosal, M.D., FAAFP, testified in a Senate committee to share stories about vulnerable patients who depend on Medicaid and related programs.
AAFP Director Shannon Dowler, M.D., C.P.E., FAAFP, the former CMO of North Carolina Medicaid, reflects on lessons learned during the first year of Medicaid expansion in her state and the potential that expansion could hold for the 10 states that have not adopted it.
The AAFP is telling Congress not to make drastic funding cuts to Medicaid. Your voice will help.
A majority of patients, including gun owners, believe clinician-initiated discussions about firearms can be appropriate. Two family physicians share how respectful, nonjudgemental discussions about secure firearm storage can make a difference.
The pace and scope of the actions we have seen that threaten our patients, our specialty and our practices are concerning. The AAFP shares your concerns, and we are taking action.
White House transitions can appear chaotic, but the AAFP’s advocacy is calm, steady — and heard.
AAFP Board member Kathleen Mueller, M.D., FAAFP, and Connecticut AFP EVP Mark Schuman reflect on the leadership and legacy of past AAFP President Neil Brooks, M.D., FAAFP, who died last fall at age 82.
A new ambassador program and other tools help you advance AAFP advocacy to improve physician payment, patient access, public health and your ability to focus on patients, not paperwork.
You could pay for test prep tools, but Kiersten Kelly, M.D, F.M.O.B., points out there are numerous free resources available to help you pass the family medicine certification exam.
Aerial Petty, D.O., writes that when she lacked time for extended board review study sessions, she worked in short study breaks during her daily commute, while standing in line and anywhere else she could maximize her time.
The transition from resident to new physician comes with pitfalls. Health lawyer Amanda Hill, J.D., explains how to move beyond common obstacles and minimize your exposure to risk.
Cynthia Chen-Joea, D.O., M.P.H., C.P.H., FAAFP, recalls being a newlywed resident looking for a job while also preparing for board exams. She offers strategies to help residents prepare for boards amid a busy life without losing sight of their own well-being.
We’re committed to working with the incoming Congress and administration to center the health care system on comprehensive primary care, and to make sure you have the tools to maintain the trust of your patients and communities.
Scholar Allene Whitney, M.D., explains how the Family Medicine Discovers Rapid Cycle Scientific Discovery and Innovation program supported her research that led to better prenatal care in her community. The 2025 application cycle for the program is open now.
Family medicine resident Elise Blaseg, M.D., details a day of working on family medicine research at the Robert Graham Center, which hosts a scholar each month to work directly with staff in Washington, D.C. Applications are open.
Five years ago, Dennis Salisbury, M.D., pleaded with his peers in the AAFP Congress of Delegates to simply talk with — and listen to — their peers on opposite sides of contentious issues. That approach worked at the recent COD when members with opposing viewpoints reached consensus on wording for a new resolution.
The AAFP warned that a physician payment cut in the 2025 Medicare physician fee schedule final rule “negates the impact” of investments to primary care made elsewhere in the MPFS and called on Congress to act by the end of the year.
Now that ballots have been cast, the AAFP is preparing to work with the next administration and the next Congress to improve physician payment, health equity and patient access for family physicians.
Influenza vaccination is a straightforward, evidence-based intervention that saves lives. Recommending it — and getting it ourselves — is our professional and moral obligation.
Rural family physicians are seeing the results of AAFP advocacy, and you can add your voice to our calls for more improvement.
Denee Moore, M.D., FAAFP, who will be featured in an Oct. 23 LinkedIn Live event on boosting patient confidence in vaccines, shares how she leans into the relationships she’s built with her own patients to increase vaccine acceptance.
AAFP Board member Shannon Dowler, M.D., C.P.E., FAAFP, describes the devastation, community response and lessons learned after Hurricane Helene hit her rural North Carolina community.
New AAFP President Jen Brull, M.D., FAAFP, offered a preview of the Academy’s strategic plan for the next three years during a mainstage event at the Family Medicine Experience in Phoenix.
The AAFP’s response to the 2025 MPFS includes guidance for CMS and a message for Congress.
As his term comes to an end, Steven Furr, M.D., FAAFP, reflects on his year as AAFP president and urges others to get involved in family medicine leadership.
AAFP members’ advocacy power and community leadership start at the ballot box. The Academy has new tools to help you make your plan to vote Nov. 5.
In the Academy’s first three decades, only one woman served as a director on the AAFP Board. When a new Board is seated later this month at the Congress of Delegates, women will occupy 11 of 17 elected positions.
Jessica Nu Glick, D.O., didn’t initially consider direct primary care when she was pondering a career change because she didn’t want the added responsibility of running a small business. Then she realized being an employed DPC physician was an exciting new option.
AAFP President Steven Furr, M.D., FAAFP, explains why it’s so important for family physicians to open students' eyes to all the possibilities family medicine offers.
Congress is in recess this month, and lawmakers need to hear from family physicians.
With the Congress of Delegates approaching, AAFP Nominating Committee Chair Reid Blackwelder, M.D., FAAFP, shares his thoughts on the first election using a new system of identifying candidates for the Academy’s Board of Directors.
A recent physician survey found that loss of autonomy is one of the top reasons doctors are leaving medicine. AAFP President and practice owner Steven Furr, M.D., FAAFP, writes that students and residents should be exposed to private practice, direct primary care and other practice models and roles that give physicians greater independence.
The AAFP swiftly responded to CMS’ proposed 2025 Medicare physician fee schedule by urging Congress to head off another reduction in primary care payment and start implementing annual payment increases.
Matthew Adkins, D.O., new physician member of the AAFP Board of Directors and assistant director of the Grant Family Medicine Residency, offers advice to this year’s class of graduating residents.
AAFP President Steven Furr, M.D., FAAFP, is excited about the plans for his milestone birthday — speaking for three hours at two events — because strengthening ties with fellow family physicians is invigorating.
Crucial legislation returns with momentum, and Congress hears AAFP testimony on noncompete agreements and health care consolidation.
Senior Vice President of Education, Inclusiveness and Physician Well-being Margot Savoy, M.D., M.P.H., FAAFP, regaled colleagues at this year’s AAFP Physician Health and Well-being Conference with a tale featuring two groups of hardworking but largely unsung heroes.
AAFP President Steven Furr, M.D., FAAFP, writes that inadequate payment is straining rural hospitals and putting care for mothers and newborns at risk.
News that NBA All-Star Joel Embiid recently was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy prompted AAFP Board member Kisha Davis, M.D., M.P.H., FAAFP, to reflect on her own experience with the condition, which can be triggered by stress. Davis writes that she had to learn to listen to her body in order for her condition to improve.
The 2024 AAFP Leadership Conference and National Conference of Constituency Leaders featured a powerful keynote on advocacy and a reminder of the AAFP’s deep resources.
AAFP Board Chair Tochi Iroku-Malize, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., FAAFP, spoke at an international conference about the role health systems can play in addressing climate change. In this Earth Day post, she writes that family physicians also can wield influence to make changes at the local and state level.
Student leader Taree Chadwick offers tips for those matching in 2025 and beyond as she reflects on her own successful Match experience.
Chair Reid Blackwelder, M.D., FAAFP, offers an update on the works of the AAFP Nominating Committee and introduces the inaugural slate of candidates put forth by the committee for consideration by the Congress of Delegates.
Ensuring that all Americans have equitable access to health care requires a physician workforce that is diverse and robust, and truly understands the communities its members serve.
The $1.2 trillion funding package that Congress recently passed includes wins for the Academy’s advocacy — and gaps we’ll push hard to close the rest of this year.
Two AAFP vaccine science fellows share what they learned from the most recent respiratory syncytial virus infection season.
AAFP President Steven Furr, M.D., FAAFP, welcomes the new class of family medicine residents to the specialty on Match Day with a look at the wide range of career options that now lie open to them.
Recent graduate Lilian White, M.D., shares why, and how, she started her direct primary care practice right after residency.
As a measles outbreak spreads to more than a dozen states, AAFP President Steven Furr, M.D., FAAFP, offers tips on how family physician can leverage their trusted relationships with patients to help boost vaccine acceptance.
The AAFP is working with CMS and private payers to let primary care physicians use Medicare’s new add-on code in tandem with the longstanding code for evaluation and management complexity
As a stage manager for Blue Man Group, Taree Chadwick had a stable income in an industry she loved. But she longed for deeper connections with people and opportunities to make a difference in her community. In this blog post, Chadwick, the student member of the AAFP Board of Directors, shares why she took on the risk and expense of going back to school to become a family physician.
Board Chair Tochi Iroku-Malize, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., FAAFP, reflects on change and the art of family medicine at the start of Black History Month, which this year highlights African Americans and the arts. The art of family medicine requires fine-tuning patient communication, educating students and residents, and making complex topics understandable, she writes.
Academy leaders were on Capitol Hill this week to discuss issues related to payment, education and practice. In his latest blog post, AAFP President Steven Furr, M.D., FAAFP, shares how members can help amplify the Academy’s advocacy efforts.
2023 was a year of big moves for the AAFP, including some significant advocacy wins. Now that 2024 is underway, many of these policy changes are officially in effect. I want to remind you of some of the most important, and their impacts.
The chair of the AAFP’s new Nominating Committee offers an update about the committee’s work to build a strong slate of Board of Director candidates and invites members to apply to be a candidate by Feb. 15.
It’s been a strong year for AAFP chapter advocacy. Here are some key takeaways from wins across the country.
AAFP President Steven Furr, M.D., FAAFP, offers an update on the Academy’s advocacy efforts and encourages family physicians to get involved.
As third-year students go through clinical rotations that will influence their specialty choice and fourth-year students participate in residency interviews that will impact where they ultimately train, we asked our new physician bloggers about the moments that helped them realize family medicine was the specialty for them. Here’s what they shared.
Lawmakers’ move to avert a federal shutdown brought a couple of short-term wins for the AAFP. Now we’re working to turn them into real gains for family physicians.
The 2024 Medicare fee schedule and Quality Payment Program final rule includes a key family medicine win: full implementation of the Medicare G2211 add-on code.
Family physicians Tamara and Sean Oser explain why — and how — you may want to implement continuous glucose monitoring in your practice.
Christen Johnson, M.D., Ed.D., M.P.H., FAAFP, is passionate about helping patients overcome obstacles to good health. She urges her peers to take advantage of the tools available to address health equity.
New AAFP President Steven Furr, M.D., FAAFP, writes that the Academy has enough leadership opportunities for every chapter and practice type to be well represented and urges members to get involved.
The 2023 Member Satisfaction Survey shows alignment between the AAFP’s strategic work and members’ highest priorities, AAFP Executive Vice President and CEO Shawn Martin writes in the Leader Voices Blog.
Congress just gave itself six more weeks to figure out next year’s funding. We’re taking advantage of the time.
The 2024 Medicare physician fee schedule proposed rule follows through on an important boost for primary care. It’s under attack — and we’re fighting back.
It’s impossible to know it all, especially in a specialty as broad as family medicine. Brand new family physician Lilian White, M.D., explains how an American Family Physician article made her confident in her diagnosis of a young patient.
Numerous leadership opportunities are available for AAFP members. New physician Anna Askari, M.D., M.S.B.S., explains how her leadership path began as a student and encourages others to get involved.
AAFP Executive Vice President and CEO Shawn Martin recaps his Senate testimony on health care consolidation and underinvestment in primary care.
We’re winning our push for training related to substance use disorder that fits your practices’ needs and reduces time away from patient care. Here’s what’s next.
Resident Chase Mussard, M.D., encourages candidates to revel in the magic of Match Day on March 17 with these words: “You are already on your way to being a great family physician.”
The Academy is championing bold action in Congress to strengthen the health care workforce and center it on primary care. You can help.
Stephanie Quinn, senior vice president of advocacy, practice advancement and policy, unpacks the considerable AAFP advocacy wins in the 2023 appropriations bill.
