Members give Academy high marks
Members are upbeat about the Academy, and AAFP membership is on the rise.
In the seventh annual "satisfaction" survey, members gave the Academy high marks in 1998. For example:
- 78 percent of the 495 survey respondents said the Academy is doing a good job representing family practice to the rest of organized medicine and to the public and patients,
- 69 percent said the Academy is doing a good job representing the specialty to the government,
- 84 percent gave the Academy a positive rating compared to other medical organizations and
- 93 percent of surveyed members who contacted the AAFP within the past two years were satisfied with the accuracy and thoroughness of the response.
On questions about income and regulatory hassles, however, many replies were disheartening. Four in 10 respondents did not agree with the statement, "I expect to make more money from my practice this year than last year." And 93 percent said outside regulations and rules made it difficult to practice (see E/M guidelines story).
Membership figures fluctuate through the year, with the annual benchmark being the Dec. 31 total (see chart). The 1998 end-of-year total--87,852--was a record.
AAFP members* 1970 31,338 1980 50,237 1990 71,401 1995 80,147 1996 83,017 1997 85,674 1998 87,852 *Dec. 31 totals
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department. Copyright © 1999 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
FP Report | Headlines |AAFP Home | Search