FPM (formerly Family Practice Management) is an editorially independent, peer-reviewed journal established in 1993 and published by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Through our bimonthly print and online publication, weekly e-enewsletter, and extensive website, FPM provides practical information to help family physicians maintain efficient and effective practices, enhance the patient experience, and maximize their professional satisfaction. (See FPM's Editorial Mission and Policies.)
FPM is indexed in MEDLINE, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's premier bibliographic database, PubMED, and Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature. The journal is also available in full text through Clinical Key.
FPM publishes actionable articles that help family physicians with the nonclinical aspects of practice, including practice management, coding/billing, patient interaction, workflows, and career development. See "Topics we cover." The test of a manuscript we are considering is whether it is useful to family physicians and adds to the literature on the topic.
We do not publish clinical recommendations or original research, which are the purview of our sister publications American Family Physician and Annals of Family Medicine. We also do not publish articles promoting proprietary products or services. We do not charge authors fees for publication; authors should beware of predatory journals, entities that claim to be scholarly journals but are fraudulent or deceptive.
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The AAFP requires all authors to disclose relevant financial relationships that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted manuscript. All authors must complete the AAFP's CME disclosure form and may be asked to provide additional details to determine whether their submission can be considered.
To avoid bias or the perception of bias, FPM will not consider manuscripts that are 1) sponsored directly or indirectly by a pharmaceutical company, medical education company, or other commercial entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services to patients or health care professionals or by an ineligible company or 2) written by an author who has (or whose spouse/partner has) a financial relationship with or interest in any commercial entity or ineligible company that may have an interest in the subject matter of the article within the previous 36 months or in the foreseeable future, unless the conflict can be mitigated. This policy includes, but is not limited to, the following relationships/interests:
Sponsored content opportunities exist outside of the editorial process. Contact Darren Sextro, vice president of Journal Media.
Please keep author groups to six or fewer authors, and designate one person as the lead/corresponding author. All authors should have participated sufficiently in the manuscript conception, analysis, and writing. Review the criteria for authorship. Some contributions may be more appropriately credited with an acknowledgment vs. authorship. Authors and individuals whose contributions are to be acknowledged must give their permission to be named. Medical students and residents are encouraged to include more experienced physicians in their author groups.
We require authors to work directly with us, not through a third party. FPM seldom accepts articles that public relations or marketing communications professionals have been involved in developing. Authors must disclose the involvement of such entities, and these disclosures generally point to conflicts of interest that can’t be mitigated sufficiently to allow for the acceptance of the article.
Material published in FPM is covered by copyright. Unless otherwise indicated, the AAFP is the owner of all copyrights to any work FPM publishes. Authors may not submit manuscripts to FPM that have been published or that have been submitted to or are in press with another publication. Each author who was not an employee of the U.S. federal government at the time of manuscript writing will be asked upon manuscript acceptance to assign, transfer, and convey all rights, title, and interest in the work and its accompanying original tables and figures, including copyright ownership, to the AAFP. In making this assignment of ownership, the authors understand that all accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the AAFP and may not be published elsewhere without written permission from the AAFP.
If artificial intelligence (AI) tools have been used in drafting the manuscript, authors must disclose this at the time of manuscript submission, including the type of AI and how they used it. When incorporating AI-generated statements, authors must verify the information and provide correct references in the established literature to ensure accuracy and appropriate attribution. AI technology does not qualify for authorship credit because it cannot guarantee the veracity of the language generated.
Submit original manuscripts to FPM via ScholarOne, our online manuscript submission and peer review system, by clicking on the link below. If you do not have a ScholarOne ID and password, you will need to create an account.
FPM's ScholarOne site: https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/fpm
Title: A good article title is concise, clear, informative, and compelling, effectively conveying the article's topic and grabbing the reader's attention.
Dek: Provide a one-sentence description that expands on the title and helps readers understand the article's relevance and value.
Introduction: Briefly describe the problem/issue the article addresses or provide the necessary background/context to help readers understand the advice to come.
Subheads: Break up the article into logical sections — e.g., Solution, Results, Lessons Learned.
Conclusion: Offer a parting thought or idea that brings the article's points together. Do not simply summarize the article.
Key points: Offer three brief takeaway lessons as bullet points, not necessarily summarizing the article but offering key insights or actionable points.
Tables/figures/tools/videos: Use these items to build on the information provided in the body of the article, rather than duplicate it.
References: Supply references only 1) to give credit for a quote or other information from another source or 2) to support any statement readers are likely to question. When citing sources, convey information in your own words. Do not use embedded references in your document. Follow American Medical Association (AMA) style — e.g., 1. Weiss BD. Nonpharmacologic treatment of urinary incontinence. Am Fam Physician. 1991;44(2):579-586.
Submitted manuscripts go through multiple stages.
Internal review. At this initial stage, the FPM editors evaluate the manuscript's suitability for the journal and its readers. The editors may reject the manuscript, ask for revisions, or advance it to peer review.
Peer review. The editors seek the input of a group of peer reviewers. Based on that input, the editors may reject the manuscript, ask for revisions, or accept it for publication. Most manuscripts require some degree of revision before acceptance.
Editing. Accepted manuscripts undergo a professional edit. Some manuscripts are edited substantially at this stage, and authors may be asked to fill gaps in their presentation. Authors are asked to review and approve all substantive changes.
Page proofs. Once designers create layouts for articles, editors do the final proofing before the issue is published in print and online.
Time from submission to publication varies, depending on the amount of revision required, but is typically four to six months.