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American Academy of Family Physicians to Publish New Waiting Room Publication

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 23, 2003

Contact:
Adam Lee
American Academy of Family Physicians
(800) 274-2237 Ext. 5221
alee@aafp.org

LEAWOOD, Kan. – The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is partnering with custom publishing company, Boston Hannah, to produce Family Doctor: Your Essential Guide to Health and Wellbeing, a consumer health magazine that will be distributed to patients through family physicians’ waiting rooms.

The publication, which will be distributed in the first quarter of 2004, will focus on health and wellness issues for the whole family.

More than 500,000 copies of the publication will be available as permanent copies in family physician’s waiting rooms, as personal copies handed out upon request to patients by their AAFP doctor and for purchase for a nominal fee on familydoctor.org, the AAFP’s consumer website. Family Doctor will be supported by commercial advertising and will be provided free-of-charge to AAFP member physicians’ practices.

In addition to enhancing the patient’s understanding of a wide variety of health and wellness issues, the publication will provide patients with tools and tips to help them become active partners in their health care.

“In keeping with the philosophy of family medicine, Family Doctor will address the patient as a whole person,” said Michael D. Springer, AAFP vice-president for publishing and communications. “This project is unique because it allows us the opportunity to reach patients with pertinent health information at the point of care when their health and the health of their families is uppermost in their minds.”

The publication will be updated annually with the latest available information on treatments and medicines for common conditions and health concerns – from diabetes, allergies and asthma to contraception, hypertension and heartburn.

“Family Doctor will be styled in an attractive, reader-friendly format that aims to impart knowledge and understanding in an informative but comfortable tone,” said Kevin Harrington, publisher and chief executive of Boston Hannah. “The publication will provide patients with the latest, need-to-know information on new products and treatments for their everyday health concerns.”

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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.

Boston Hannah International is a custom publisher operating from both New York and London. As well as being the publisher for Family Doctor the company is the media partner for more than a dozen organizations, including the PGA TOUR and Starwood’s Luxury Collection & St. Regis Hotels. For more information about Family Doctor, contact Charles Ford, managing editor or Kevin Harrington, publisher at (212) 889 8191.