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American Academy of Family Physicians Announces New eHealth Initiative – Online Continuing Medical Education Tied to AFP Articles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 10, 2002

Contact:
Leslie Champlin
American Academy of Family Physicians
(800) 274-2237, Ext. 5224
lchampli@aafp.org

LEAWOOD, Kan. — The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) announces a new resource for its online continuing medical education (CME) portion of the Web site. To enrich the learning experience family physicians enjoy through American Family Physician (AFP), the AAFP’s clinical journal, and through the CME portion of the AAFP Web site, subject-specific articles will now be ‘tied’ with the related online case-based CME.

Following an AFP article will be URLs of corresponding CME cases on the article topic. For example, an AFP article on the topic of thyroid nodules will now have a link to the relating CME site. This will provide an additional learning opportunity for the physician as well as CME credit.

An initial list of articles has been selected. These titles include “Recognition and Management of Premenstrual Syndrome,” “Use of Over-the-Counter Medications in Pregnancy,” “Environmental Control of Allergic Diseases,” “Vaccine Adverse Events: Separating Myth from Reality” and “Drug Therapy for Older Adults.” AFP editorial staff will periodically review the full list of articles and add new titles as they are approved.

Dan Mjolsness, Director of eHealth Development for the AAFP, has targeted this as one of his newest initiatives for the Academy. The AFP and the coordinating online CME section will be supported in part by unrestricted education grants. “We look forward to forming and building new strategic relationships that will help us better educate our members and the public,” Mjolsness said.

This new eHealth initiative will provide a broader base of learning for the physician, while providing relevant CME cases for corresponding articles in AFP. Family physicians are specialists who are trained to treat both genders and all ages. Their unique education is what prepares them to care for the whole family. AAFP members are required to obtain a minimum of 150 hours of continuing medical education every three years to maintain membership within the organization.

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Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents more than 93,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

Nearly one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 215 million office visits each year – nearly 48 million more than the next medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide the majority of care for America’s underserved and rural populations.

In the increasingly fragmented world of health care where many medical specialties limit their practice to a particular organ, disease, age or sex, family physicians are dedicated to treating the whole person across the full spectrum of ages. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.

To learn more about the American Academy of Family Physicians and about the specialty of family medicine, please visit www.aafp.org.

For more information about the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care and downloadable multi-media on family medicine and health care, visit the AAFP Media Center.

For more information about health care, health conditions, and wellness, please visit familydoctor.org.