Family practice is the medical specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for individuals and families. Family medicine's cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. Unlike other specialties that are limited in scope, family medicine integrates the biological, clinical and behavioral sciences in order to treat all ages, sexes, each organ system and every disease entity. It is a three-dimensional specialty that incorporates the elements of knowledge, skill and process. While knowledge and skill may be shared with other specialties, the family practice process is unique.  It emphasizes preventative care and long-term relationships between patients and physicians, and it is the extent to which this relationship is valued, developed, nurtured and maintained, that distinguishes family practice from all other specialties.

The specialty of family medicine was created in 1969 to fulfill the generalist function in medicine, which suffered from the growth of subspecialization after World War II. Today, there are nearly 70,000 practicing family physicians in the United States, and nearly one in four of all office visits are made to general and family physicians annually. In 2001, office visits to general and family physicians numbered more than 210 million--76 million more than to any other specialty. Since its creation nearly four decades ago, the specialty of family medicine has delivered on its promise to reverse the decline of general medicine and to provide personal, front-line medical care to people of all socioeconomic strata and in all regions of the United States. In fact, family physicians provide the majority of care for America's underserved rural and urban populations. 

Family physicians complete a three-year residency program after graduating from medical school. As part of their residency, they participate in integrated inpatient and outpatient learning and receive training in six major medical areas: pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, psychiatry and neurology, surgery and community medicine. They also receive instruction in many other areas including geriatrics, emergency medicine, ophthalmology, radiology, orthopedics, otolaryngology and urology.

The Florida Academy of Family Physicians believes that family medicine is the most effective and efficient method of treatment. Family physicians diagnose and treat 90 percent of all patient problems, including biological and mental health concerns. Through long-term physician-patient relationships, family physicians come to know the entire and detailed medical history of their patients, thereby being better able to recommend necessary treatments. Treatment by family physicians results in quality of care equal to specialty care, high patient satisfaction, and a more cost-effective use of hospitals, testing, procedures, and expensive technology.

The Florida Academy of Family Physicians is the only professional medical association in Florida that solely represents the family physician. The FAFP is the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the national association of family doctors that represents more than 94,000 members across the country. Through its association with the AAFP, the Florida Academy strives to achieve the following goals:

The FAFP understands that continuing education is vital to the effectiveness of every physician. Consequently, each member is required to complete 150 hours of continuing medical education every three years. The FAFP provides numerous seminars, courses, and meetings to achieve this goal.

The FAFP also acts as the active voice for family medicine, advocating key issues among patients, the medical community, legislators and regulators, third-party payers, and the general public. The FAFP continually works to communicate, recognize and celebrate the issues of family medicine, while helping all Floridians to understand that having a family physician is vital to their health.

Additionally, the FAFP strives to promote interest in family medicine as a career by working with Florida's four medical schools to provide quality residency and medical training programs in family medicine. They emphasize the benefits of creating long-standing relationships with patients and families who will present challenges, inspiration, and lessons about life. Physicians have the opportunity t watch patients change and develop over time, while making a difference in the lives of others by "being there" for those in need. By working with today's medical students and residents, the FAFP will ensure the future of family medicine in Florida.

The charitable arm of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians is the FAFP Foundation. This 501(c)3 nonprofit organization enables the FAFP to reach out to its members by providing opportunities that will enhance and improve the specialty of family medicine. The primary mission of the FAFP Foundation is to continually improve the health care of all Floridians by funding education, research, and community outreach programs involving medical students, residents, and family physicians.

Since its inception in 1988, the Foundation has conducted valuable research projects, funded programs to educate and attract medical students to family medicine, administered continuing medical education programs to increase the knowledge and skills of physicians, and increased patient and public awareness about the importance of family practice.

In today's health care setting, both patients and physicians face numerous challenges in ensuring that optimal satisfaction is achieved. The FAFP Foundation recognizes these challenges and will meet their present needs by implementing projects such as the creation of Centers for Practice Excellence in the family physician's office, a Diabetes Master Clinician Program, professional development programs, scholarships, research grants, and awards programs for family medical students and residents, and involvement in the AAFP's national youth tobacco prevention program.

The FAFP serves as a friend, advocate, educator and representative for Florida's family physicians, medical students, and residents. Florida is one of the leading states in enacting the AAFP's recommendations for the future of family medicine. The FAFP constantly strives to help family physicians provide the best possible care to patients, while making their jobs as easy as possible. The FAFP is dedicated to advancing the specialty of family medicine and through its initiatives, will ensure the future of this medical profession.

For more information about the Florida Academy of Family Physicians: