• FP Essentials Editorial Mission and Policies

    FP Essentials is an editorially independent, peer-reviewed publication of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). FP Essentials and its derivative product FP Comprehensive are designed to assist family physicians and other learners in meeting their continuing medical education (CME), practice, and board certification goals.

    Editorial Mission

    The mission of FP Essentials is to provide practicing family physicians, family medicine residents, and other clinicians and trainees with high-quality, cost-effective educational content that emphasizes new advances in clinical practice. In 12 monthly monographs per year, FP Essentials offers CME credit and assists learners in preparing for the American Board of Family Medicine certification exam, as editions follow a three-year clinical topic cycle designed to complement the exam format. 

    Editorial Practices and Policies

    Editorial Team
    The FP Essentials editorial team is led by a medical editor, a family physician who is independently contracted by the AAFP, and a managing editor, a publishing professional who is employed by the AAFP. The team includes physician editors and professional editing staff. The medical editor’s primary responsibilities are to (1) assemble the team of associate medical editors and editorial board members, (2) guide the team in selecting topics and content for the curriculum, (3) oversee development of editorial content, and (4) participate in editing and other aspects of preparation. The managing editor’s primary responsibility is to ensure the quality of FP Essentials' editorial content and processes, including the work of the professional editorial staff. 

    The editorial board is an independent advisory board made up of family physicians with academic and clinical practice affiliations. Board members, working with the medical editors, assist in determining the desired content, serve as peer reviewers of manuscripts, and occasionally serve as authors.

    Peer Review
    All manuscripts considered for publication undergo peer review by several individuals, including members of the editorial board, along with family physicians and subspecialists in disciplines pertinent to the manuscript content. The reviews focus on accuracy and currency of content, along with an assessment of relevance and practicality of information for learners.

    FP Essentials and the AAFP
    The medical editor, managing editor, and editorial team operate with editorial independence and are fully responsible for FP Essentials content. The AAFP as the sponsoring organization has no authority over FP Essentials content.

    Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest
    FP Essentials is committed to publishing high-quality editorial content that is free of bias resulting from organizational influence and personal self-interest. Thus, all authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and staff members are required to disclose relevant financial affiliations and potential conflicts before their role in developing or authoring editorial content is confirmed. Disclosure documents are reviewed for potential conflicts of interest. If a conflict of interest is identified, it is mitigated. Only those authors and editors who have no conflicts of interest or whose conflicts have been successfully mitigated are involved with FP Essentials. A disclosure statement is published in each edition, and learners are informed of any relevant financial relationships. 

    Disclaimer
    The material presented here is being made available by the AAFP for educational purposes only. This material is not intended to represent the only, nor necessarily best, methods or procedures appropriate for the medical situations discussed. Rather, it is intended to present an approach, view, statement, or opinion of the faculty, which may be helpful to others who face similar situations.

    The AAFP disclaims any and all liability for injury or other damages resulting to any individual using this material and for all claims that might arise out of the use or application of any methods, regimens, products, instructions, information, or ideas contained therein, whether these claims shall be asserted by a physician or any other person. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the data presented here. Physicians may care to check specific details, such as drug doses and contraindications, etc, in standard sources prior to clinical application. This material might contain recommendations/guidelines developed by other organizations. Please note that although these guidelines might be included, this does not necessarily imply endorsement by the AAFP.

    Indexing
    FP Essentials is indexed in MEDLINE and PubMed.

    Copyright
    Content published in FP Essentials (ISSN 2159-3000 print; ISSN 2161-9344 online) is covered by copyright. All rights are reserved under United States and international copyright and other laws and conventions. No copyright is claimed to any work of the US government. Permission is required to reprint or adapt previously published material.

    Advertising and Commercial Support
    FP Essentials does not accept advertising. FP Essentials does not accept content that is commercially supported, either directly or indirectly, by pharmaceutical companies, public relations firms, or other commercial entities.

    Continuing Medical Education
    AAFP prescribed credits are available to learners who read an edition of FP Essentials and complete an online self-assessment evaluation. Quizzes must be completed within 2 years of the month of publication.