Target Audience: Employers

To shine a national spotlight on the need for system reform that will get the nation’s health care focused where it belongs — on preventive and primary care — the AAFP helped facilitate a medical home symposium for policymakers, purchasers and employers, in conjunction with the Patient Center Primary Care Collaborative. For this event, the Robert Graham Center synthesized supportive research on the proven power of a medical home to improve care and hold down costs, and the AAFP produced an executive summary.

The summit was held November 7, 2007, at the Columbus Club in Union Station, Washington, D.C. The AAFP took a leadership role in the development of the event, working collaboratively with IBM, ACP and ERIC staff. The AAFP was able to secure Newt Gingrich as the keynote speaker. Drs. Jim King and Doug Henley spoke at the event. The event received excellent media attention, including mention in the New York Times.

A “family medicine champion," recruited from the ranks of well-known and well-respected Americans, could help open doors and further the Academy’s efforts with policymakers, business leaders, etc. He or she would speak before major business groups and health care organizations, testify on Capitol Hill, hold media briefings, author op-eds and otherwise serve as a public face of the campaign for implementation of the medical home, overall health system reform and physician payment reform. The AAFP is looking at possibilities but has not yet identified the perfect candidate.