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FAFP Position Statements

 

The FAFP Board of Directors approved the FAFP Position Statements below during the month and year as indicated.  The board approved a policy in June 2023 requiring review of each statement every five years at which time the position statement will sunset or be reaffirmed/amended for an additional five years.  With the policy just being adopted,  any statements requiring review will be conducted by the end of 2023.

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Medical Marijuana (December 2014)

The FAFP prides itself on using evidence-based practices and supports clinical interventions that are based on science.  Therefore, the FAFP advocates medical marijuana usage be based on high quality, patient-center, evidence-based research that is consistent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s formal medical-scientific drug evaluation process.  Furthermore, the FAFP believes:

 

  • Medical treatment should be evidence-based and determined by professional standards of care; it should not be authorized by ballot initiatives.

  • No current medication exists in a smoked form due to the potential risks and unknown dose range.If scientific evidence supports the use of medical marijuana in a smoked form, the medication should be subject to the approval process of the FDA.

  • Further adequate and well-controlled studies of marijuana and related cannabinoids in patients who have serious conditions should be conducted as, to date ,there is very limited medical research that validates its use in the smoked form.

 

Firearm Safety (February 2018)

The FAFP supports the following steps be taken to address firearm safety:

  • Label violence caused by the use of guns as a national public health epidemic.

  • Fund appropriate research at the CDC as part of the 2018 federal budget.

  • Establish constitutionally appropriate restrictions on the manufacturing and sale, for civilian use, of large-capacity magazines and firearms with features designed to increase their rapid and extended killing capacity.

 

Abortion (June 2022, and April 2023)

The FAFP believes that physicians must be able to practice medicine directed by their years of medical education, training, experience, and best available evidence, freely and without threat of punishment, harassment, or retribution.  Additionally, patients must be able to depend on their physicians to help them make critical decisions about their personal health, including reproductive health. The FAFP implores legislative leaders that they, more than ever, have a moral imperative to strengthen Florida’s social safety net, invest in families and expand health insurance coverage to women and children.

 

Criminalization of Medicine (April 2023)

The FAFP represents diverse view points and personal beliefs, but is universally alarmed by the inclusion of felony charges for physicians who violate the law while practicing within the standard of care set by the Florida boards of medicine for controversial treatments (e.g., termination of a pregnancy or provide gender affirming care).  The FAFP advocates for a more balanced and evidence-based approach to regulating medical practice, one that recognizes the complexities of healthcare and clinical judgment. Family physicians should be able to care for patients directed by their years of medical education, training, experience, and evidence, freely and without threat of criminal punishment, harassment, or retribution.  Patients must be able to depend on their family physician to help them make critical decisions about their personal health.

 

As family physicians, we have a responsibility to use clinical judgment and evidence to provide care in the best interest of our patients.  Criminal penalties should be reserved for cases of intentional harm or criminal activity, rather than being tied to specific medical treatment.  The FAFP maintains its commitment in placing patients above politics in any and all circumstances. 

 

Position Statement on Racism (April 2023)

The FAFP considers racism to be a public health crisis that impacts health care, personal health, and health outcomes. The FAFP recognizes that the US healthcare system is not immune to systemic and institutional racism, as access to care, distribution of resources, and quality of healthcare are all subject to its damaging effects, resulting in the subsequent disparities in the health of patients. As family physicians, we have an obligation to identify and rectify these disparities. Medical care alone cannot adequately improve overall health without addressing the human condition by which people are forced to live.

 

The FAFP opposes systemic racism in our organization, in our specialty and in our institutions, and pledges its commitment to recognizing, addressing, and eliminating all forms of racism.

 

Statements can be meaningful, but committed, consistent, and on-going action is the only way to achieve effective change. This will be an ongoing process of continual assessment and remediation, to ensure all FAFP members, patients, and families feel valued and respected as equal members of society and this organization.

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