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

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.