AAFP, ACOG reach consensus
Agreement boosts FP/OB interaction
A new agreement between the Academy and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reinforces long-standing OB-Gyn training recom-mendations for family practice residents and should help FPs gain OB privileges.
The agreement is twofold: a statement on cooperative practice and hospital privileges, and a revision of educational guidelines for family practice residents.
Photo courtesy of Brian Halpern, M.D. Disabled veterans and others on the Vietnam Challenge -- a cycling trip across Vietnam-- trek through a fire zone at a former U.S. artillery base. Active land mines were located within 10 yards of the trail, said family physician Brian Halpern, M.D., who led the medical team. Statement. Health care organizations should create joint practice committees of OB-Gyns and FPs to determine and monitor standards of care and set proctoring guidelines, says the statement.
"Provisional privileges in primary care, obstetric care and Caesarean delivery should be granted regardless of specialty" as long as the physician has the training and experience, the statement notes.
The document calls for common guidelines supported by family physicians and obstetricians on the medical staff of the obstetric unit. "This includes a willingness on the part of obstetricians to provide consultation and back-up for family physicians who provide maternity care. The family physician should have knowledge, skills and judgment to determine when timely consultation and/or referral may be appropriate," the statement explains.
Core educational guidelines. The "Recommended Core Educational Guidelines for Family Practice Residents: Maternity and Gynecologic Care" is similar to the 1980 AAFP-ACOG recommendations, with some updates.
The 1998 and 1980 documents both call for local training committees of FPs and OB-Gyns to develop objectives, monitor residents' experiences and evaluate faculty skills.
"The statement and guidelines should greatly improve cooperation among members of the two specialties," said Daniel J. Ostergaard, M.D., AAFP vice president for education and scientific affairs. "A joint task force of AAFP and ACOG leaders hammered out these understandings over a two-year period."
To order the guidelines and statement, call the AAFP order department at (800) 944-0000 and request item #R202.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department. Copyright © 1998 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
