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Morton Kondracke , Renowned Political Journalist, Opens AAFP Annual Meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 01, 2003

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

NEW ORLEANS — Morton Kondracke, Chairman of America’s Campaign for Medical Breakthroughs, and Executive Editor for Roll Call, Capitol Hill’s independent newspaper is the keynote speaker at tomorrow’s opening ceremony of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Annual Scientific Assembly.

Kondracke is expected to focus on current political trends and the future of such contentious long-term issues as Medicare, Social Security, defense versus domestic discretionary spending and tax reforms.

A former panelist for The McLaughlin Group, an “original” and 16-year regular on the NBC/PBS public affairs show seen on 350 stations nationwide, Kondracke has covered nearly every phase of American politics and foreign policy. He has been a regular commentator on the Fox News Channel and a co-host of The Beltway Boys. In November 1994, he won the Washington Post’s coveted Crystal Ball Award as the only journalist to predict the Republican Congressional landslide.

The AAFP is meeting in New Orleans through Sunday. Hundreds of courses and lectures are being offered and more than 3,500 participants are expected to attend. For more information, or to register to attend the opening ceremony, please call the telephone number above or visit the AAFP Press Room, located at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, room 231.

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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.