Family physicians, with their broad scope of training and experience, are well qualified to provide expert and comprehensive emergency and acute medical care for patients of all ages, particularly in community-based and rural settings. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) recognizes that hospitals must meet their community responsibility and legal obligations to provide emergency medical care. As part of hospital medical staff membership and/or as stipulated in an employment contract, many family physicians provide on-call coverage in the emergency department.
Family physicians should share in any on-call requirements in the same manner as their colleagues in other specialties. For example, if the average call frequency is three days per month, a family physician should be on-call no more than three days per month, even if some coverage is in pediatrics, general medicine, obstetrics, etc. Hospitals that have not established a fair baseline of participation for each member of the medical staff should be encouraged to implement such standards.
If a family physician is disproportionately assigned on-call schedules due to their clinical skills spanning multiple specialties (general medicine, pediatrics, neonates, obstetrics, etc.) and is taking call at a rate greater than the baseline, they should be properly compensated. Inequities in call schedules may produce an untenable burden on physicians. (March Board 2005) (October 2025 COD)