LEAWOOD, Kan. — Family physicians specialize in caring for the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of their patients and their families. They are trained in all major medical areas and are able to diagnose and treat the full range of problems people bring to their doctors. Family Physicians know how a patient’s family health history and lifestyle situation can affect their health.
Highly trained in the most up-to-date treatments and technologies, family physicians know that patients want more than a medical diagnosis they want comprehensive, personalized care that a family physician offers.
Family physicians, like other medical specialists, complete an extensive three-year residency program in the specialty after graduating from medical school. As part of their residency, family physicians receive training in six major medical areas: pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, psychiatry and neurology, surgery and community medicine. They also receive instruction in many areas including geriatrics, emergency medicine, ophthalmology, radiology, orthopedics, otolaryngology and urology. As a result, family physicians are the only specialists qualified to treat most ailments, and to provide comprehensive health care for people of all ages.
The specialty of family medicine is centered on lasting, caring relationships with patients and their families. Family physicians really know their patients — they listen to them, take time with them, and help them make the right health-care decisions.
Americans make more than 200 million office visits to family physicians annually, more than any other medical specialty.
Family Physicians are Specialists in the Whole Family
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 03, 2002
Contact:
Adam Lee
American Academy of Family Physicians
(800) 274-2237 Ext. 5221
alee@aafp.org
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Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 105,900 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.
Approximately one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 240 million office visits each year — nearly 87 million more than the next largest medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.
To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s award-winning consumer Web site, www.FamilyDoctor.org.
