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Michael O. Fleming, M.D. to Lead the American Academy of Family Physicians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 03, 2003

Contact:
Amanda Denning
American Academy of Family Physicians
(800) 274-2237, Ext. 5223
adenning@aafp.org

NEW ORLEANS – Michael O. Fleming, M.D., a family physician in Shreveport, La., assumed the presidency of the American Academy of Family Physicians' (AAFP) Oct. 3 at the annual meeting, held in New Orleans. Fleming was chosen president-elect by the Congress of Delegates, the AAFP's governing body, during the organization's annual meeting in Oct. 2002. Previously, he served three years as speaker of the Congress of Delegates.

In the private practice of family medicine, Fleming is managing senior partner for The Family Doctors in Shreveport, a group practice of ten family physicians. He is also assistant clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Louisiana State University Health Science Center and in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Tulane University Medical School.

Fleming is a past president of the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians, a constituent chapter of the AAFP. Fleming is a past chair of the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, the charitable arm of the organization. He was honored as Louisiana Family Doctor of the Year in 1996.

Fleming attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and received his medical degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport in 1975. He completed a family practice residency at Louisiana State University Affiliated Hospitals in Shreveport. He is board certified by the American Board of Family Practice and is an AAFP Fellow, an earned degree awarded to family physicians for distinguished service and continuing medical education.

In addition to his active family practice, Fleming participates in international activities promoting medical education and primary care worldwide. He also works with numerous local community organizations, and has served as medical director for facilities providing care to mentally retarded individuals and patients with behavioral disorders, including Evergreen Developmental Center, the Caddo-Bossier Association for Retarded Citizens, and Magnolia House in Shreveport.

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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.