Policy statements on various areas concerning health, the delivery of medical care and in-house matters.
Statements reflect changes from the 2009 Congress of Delegates.
AAFP Policies
Download all policies (403-page PDF file; About PDFs)
AAFP Definitions for Policy Statement, Position Paper and Discussion Paper
AAFP Promotions: Print Advertorials
AAFP-ACOG Joint Statement on Cooperative Practice and Hospital Privileges
AAFP/AMA Equivalency Agreement
AAFP/CFPC Reciprocal Agreement
ABFM Diplomate, Membership Designation
Abuse, Family and Intimate Partner Violence and
Adolescent Health Care, Confidentiality
Adolescent Health Care, Role of the Family Physician
Adolescent Health Care, Sexuality and Contraception
Alcohol Advertising and Youth (Position Paper)
Alcohol and Substance Abuse and Addiction
American Board of Family Medicine, Director Nominations
Athletic Performance-Enhancing Drugs
Blood Borne Infections and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Prevention and Control
Breastfeeding (Policy Statement)
Breastfeeding, Family Physicians Supporting (Position Paper)
Breastfeeding, Hospital Use of Infant Formula in Breastfeeding Infants
Case Management Function, Payment
Certificates of Added Qualification
Certification/Maintenance of Certification, Definitions
Cesarean Delivery in Family Medicine (Position Paper)
Child Abuse, Medical Necessity for Hospitalization
Clinical Outcomes, Disclosing Unanticipated: A Resource Guide for Family Physicians (Position Paper)
Clinically Deficient Physicians
CME Credit, AAFP/AMA Equivalency Agreement
CME Credit, AAFP/CFPC Reciprocal Agreement
CME Credit, Elective and Prescribed
CME Materials, Distribution by Commercial Entities
CME Providers, Terms and Definitions
Commission Meetings, Officer Attendance At
Commission on Continuing Professional Development (CoCPD) Mission Statement
Community and Migrant Health Centers
Competence, Professional Evaluation
Competitive Activities of Officers, Directors and Commission Members
Competitive Sports, Protective Equipment for Recreational and
Comprehensive Care, Definition of
Confidentiality in Peer Review
Confidentiality, Patient/Physician
Consultations and/or Referrals, Mandatory
Consultations, Referrals, and Transfers of Care – Differences
Continuing Medical Education (CME), Definition
Continuity of Care, Definition of
Corporal Punishment in Schools
Costs of Health Care, Reducing
Costs, Physician's Right Relative to Imposed Administrative
Credentialing, Third Party Payer
Criminalization of Medical Practice
Cultural Proficiency Guidelines
Culturally Competent, Health Care
Culturally Sensitive Interpretive Services - AAFP Legislative Stance
Debt Relief for Medical Student Loans
Department of Family Medicine, Definition
Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Infant Formula
Disclosing Unanticipated Clinical Outcomes: A Resource Guide for Family Physicians (Position Paper)
Disclosure of Corporate Ties Affecting Formulary Choices and Drug Substitution
Discrimination in Membership Evaluation
Discrimination, Family Practice Residency Graduates
Discussion Paper, Definition of
Disease Management (Position Paper)
Distribution of CME Materials by Commercial Entities
Diversity, Assuring Sensitivity to Diversity in AAFP Education Activities
Drivers, Impaired, Drunk or Drugged
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) - AAFP Legislative Stance
Drug Pricing, Generic - AAFP Legislative Stance
Drug Samples, Physician Dispensing
Drugs - Therapeutic Substitution
Education, Physician Retraining
Education, Resident Work Hours
EGD, Training and Credentialing of Family Physicians In (Position Paper)
Electrocardiogram Interpretation Privileges
Electrocardiograms, Family Physician Interpretation of
Electronic Communication, Payment
Emergency Care Services Privileges
Emergency Department Call for Family Physicians (Position Statement)
Emergency Medical Care (Position Paper)
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
Emergency Medicine, Family Physicians in
Equivalency and Reciprocity Agreements, CME Credit
Ethical Behavior for Physicians in Research
Ethics and Advance Planning for End-of-Life Care
Evaluation, Professional Competence
Expansion of Residency Training Programs at Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHCs)
Expectations of Family Medicine Residency Graduates
Fairness in Federal Programs for All U.S. Citizens
Family and Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse
Family Medicine Department, Definition
Family Medicine Departments and Privileges
Family Medicine Faculty Training
Family Medicine in American Health Care
Family Medicine Interest Groups
Family Medicine Residency Graduate Discrimination
Family Medicine, Definition of
Family Medicine, Quality Health Care in
Family Medicine, Scope and Philosophical Statement
Family Medicine, Specialist in
Family Medicine, Undergraduate Training in
Family Physicians Workforce and Residency Education
Fees to Physicians for Referrals to Other Health Care Providers
Fellow, Membership Designation
Firearms, Handguns and Assault Weapons Laws
Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies
Formulary Choices and Drug Substitution, Disclosure of Corporate Ties Affecting
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)
Gender Equity on Prescription Drug Coverage
Generic Drug Pricing - AAFP Legislative Stance
Global Warming and Air Pollution
Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act - AAFP Legislative Stance
Health Care Costs, Methods for Reducing
Health Care Costs, Principles Regarding Cost Effectiveness
Health Plans, Low Bidder Concept
Health Workforce Credentialing
Health-e Information Technology Act - AAFP Legislative Stance
Healthy Vending in Health Care Facilities
Hearing Loss, Deafness and the Hard-of-Hearing
Hospital Accreditation, Joint Commission
Hospital Bylaws on Low Volume/No Volume Privileging
Hospital Medical Staff and Other Health Care Organizations, Board Recertification
Hospital Medical Staff, Board Certification for Membership
Hospital Medical Staff, Economic Credentialing
Hospital Medical Staff, Liaison Between Governing Boards and
Hospital Use of Infant Formula in Breastfeeding Infants
Hospitals, Transfer of Patients
Hygiene, Personal Hygiene in School Settings
Illegal Acts Against Physicians and Other Health Professionals
Incentives for Increasing Student Choice of Family Medicine
Information Technology Used in Health Care
Integrated Practice Arrangements
Integrative Medicine, Accreditation of CME Activities
Laboratories, Physician Office
Laboratory Referrals, Unsolicited
Licensure/Relicensure, Definitions
Linguistically Appropriate Health Care
Long-Term Care Facilities, Continuity of Care
Long-Term Care Facilities, Criteria for Medical Directors
Maternal/Child Care (Obstetrics)
Medical Home, Patient-centered
Medical Necessity for the Hospitalization of the Abused and Neglected Child
Medical Schools, Minority and Women Representation In Medicine
Medical Schools, Service to Minority, Vulnerable and Underserved Populations
Medical Waste Disposal in Non-Medical Settings
Medicare Preventive Services Coverage Act (S. 2115) - AAFP Legislative Stance
Medicare Rural Health Access Improvement Act (S. 2786) - AAFP Legislative Stance
MedPAC Rural Representation Act - AAFP Legislative Stance
Membership Evaluation, Discrimination in
Mental Health Care Services by Family Physicians (Position Paper)
Mental Health, Parity in Coverage for Patients
Mental Health, Physician Responsibility
Mercury in Food as a Human Health Hazard
Military Service, Physicians' Draft
Minority Students, Family Physicians as Role Models for
Motor Vehicle Occupant Protection
Motorcycle and Bicycle Helmet Laws
Motorized Recreational Vehicles
National Minority Health Month
Networks, Tiered and Select Physician
Never Events and Hospital Acquired Conditions
Non-Physician Providers, Family Physician Training With
Non-Physician Providers, Payment
Non-Prescription Drug Modernization Act - AAFP Legislative Stance
Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) Warfare
Obstetrics, Maternal/Child Care
Parental Leave During Residency Training
Patient and Pharmacy Protection Act - AAFP Legislative Stance
Patient Responsibility for Follow-Up of Diagnosis and Treatment
Patient-Centered Medical Home, Definition of
Patient/Physician Confidentiality
Payment for Non Face-to-Face Physician Services
Payment to Physicians for Referrals to Other Health Care Providers
Payment, Case Management Function
Payment, Non-Physician Providers
Pharmacists Dispensing Drugs - AAFP Legislative Stance
Pharmacists' Right of Conscientious Objection
Physician and Patient Relationships, Professional Responsibility
Physician Dispensing of Drug Samples
Physician Expert Witness in Medical Liability Suits
Physician Networks, Tiered and Select
Physician Performance Reporting, Guiding Principles
Physician Profiling, Guiding Principles
Physician's Right Relative to Imposed Administrative Costs
Physicians, Clinically Deficient
Policy Statement, Definition of
Prescribed and Elective CME Credit
Preserving Patient Access to Primary Care Act - AAFP Legislative Stance
Primary Care Physician, Generic
Primary Care Services for Limited Specialists
Privilege Assignment in Departmentalized Hospitals
Privileges and Training for New Procedures
Privileges at Competing Hospitals
Privileges, Documentation of Training and Experience
Privileges, Electrocardiogram Interpretation
Privileges, Emergency Care Services
Privileges, Family Medicine Departments and
Privileges, Special/Critical Care Unit
Privileges, Surgical Assistant
Procedural Skills Training, Residency Criteria
Procedural Skills, Interspecialty Support in Clinical Procedures
Procedural Skills, Preceptor/Proctor Readiness Course
Procedural Skills, Scope of Training in Family Medicine Residencies
Professional Competence Evaluation
Professional Medical Liability
Professional Medical Liability, Insurance Stipulations
Professional Medical Liability, Lawsuits
Promoting Early Literacy Development
Proprietary Practices, AAFP Policies on
Protective Equipment for Recreational and Competitive Sports Activities
Provider, Use of Term (Position Paper)
Quality Health Care in Family Medicine
Recreational and Competitive Sports Activities, Protective Equipment
Referral, Unsolicited Laboratory
Reproductive Decisions, Training in
Research in Medical Practice, Pharmaceutical
Research, Ethical Behavior for Physicians
Research, Family Medicine Journals
Residency Graduate of Family Medicine, Discrimination of
Residency Training Leading to Dual Board Certification
Residency Training Programs at Federally Qualified Community Health Centers, Expansion of
Resident Education, Discrimination
Rural Health Care in Medical Education
Rural Health Care, "First Responder" Training
Rural Health Care, Obstetrics/Perinatal Care
Rural Health Care, Payment for Telemedicine
Rural Health Care, Physician Licensure in Telemedicine
Rural Health Care, Telemedicine
Rural Health Quality Commission Act - AAFP Legislative Stance
Rural Medicare Equity Act (S. 498) - AAFP Legislative Stance
Rural Practice, Keeping Physicians In (Position Paper)
Rural Practice: Graduate Medical Education for (Position Paper)
Rural Veterans Access to Care Act - AAFP Legislative Stance
School-Based Health Clinics, Guidelines
Scope of, Philosophical Statement, Family Medicine
Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Blood Borne Infections, Prevention and Control
Shared Medical Appointments/Group Visits
Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Act (S. 2795) - AAFP Legislative Stance
Sports Medicine, Athletic Trainers for High School Athletes
Sports Medicine, Counseling About Risk of Contact/Collision Sports
Sports Medicine, Disabled Persons: Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
Sports Medicine, Health and Fitness
Strategies to Address Antimicrobial Resistance - AAFP Legislative Stance
Student Choice of Family Medicine, Incentives for Increasing
Student Education, Discrimination
Substance and Alcohol Abuse and Addiction
Surgeon General Independence Act - AAFP Legislative Stance
Teaching, Physician Responsibility
Terms and Definitions of CME Providers
Third Party Payer Credentialing
Tiered and Select Physician Networks
Tobacco-Use Prevention and Cessation (Position Paper)
Ultimate Fighting and Disabling Competitions
Ultrasonography, Diagnostic in OB/GYN (Position Paper)
Undocumented Individuals, Criminalization of Medical Practice of
Undocumented Patients, Criminalization of Care Provided to
Urban/Inner-City Training Program in Family Medicine
Violence as a Public Health Concern
Violence, Illegal Acts Against Physicians and Other Health Professionals
Violence, Media (Position Paper)
Water, Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies
Women in Family Medicine, Proportionate Representation in Leadership Roles
