Familydoctor.org Adds New Writing Opportunity for Members

As Academy members already know very well, patients trust familydoctor.org to deliver quick, reliable answers to their basic health care questions. That's because family physicians carefully review and vet all content posted on the site. Visitors to familydoctor.org hail from a variety of backgrounds and education levels, so the site's content is offered in both English and Spanish and is written at a sixth-grade reading level to optimize patient comprehension.

Opportunities Available

First off, family physicians are encouraged to contribute to a new section of commentary-style articles that will show the full scope of health care -- including caring for the physical, mental and emotional health needs of the whole family -- that family doctors provide.

Aspiring authors are asked to provide specific patient care examples that may include elements such as

• clinical diagnosis and how a patient presented,
  
• counseling techniques and/or treatment options used,
  
• description of improved outcomes,
  
• critical role of the patient-physician relationship in health care, and
  
• additional information important for patients and/or parents and caregivers to know.

A second option is to contribute diseases and conditions articles, which are currently the most popular content on familydoctor.org, that offer physician-reviewed information on symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The articles also include questions to ask during a physician visit and, if applicable, tips for living with a chronic disease.

Qualifications for Writing

Family physicians must be active or resident Academy members in good standing who have completed at least one of these actions:

• published a medical or public health article,
  
• spoken at a conference on a medical or public health topic,
  
• participated on a panel for a medical or public health topic, or
  
• written for an AAFP blog.

Other qualification options for residents include research work, case studies or proof for presenting at grand rounds.

Family physicians who are interested in submitting materials may download and complete the credentialing form and return it via email. Residents are asked to have their program director or coordinator sign the credentialing form.

Writing/Review Process

The process and timeline for considering materials family physicians have submitted is as follows:

1. Author submits the credentialing form.
   2. AAFP will review the credentialing form (two weeks).
   3. AAFP will respond to the author regarding approval. If approved, the AAFP team will provide the author with topic options to write on, content guidelines and additional forms to complete (author's bio and submission form).
   4. Author will create and submit an article for inclusion on familydoctor.org, along with any remaining forms.
   5. AAFP will review and edit the submitted article (two weeks).
   6. AAFP will submit the article to familydoctor.org's Medical Review Board for review and any additional edits (two weeks).
   7. AAFP will provide the revised version of the article to the author.

Prospective authors should note that familydoctor.org's conflict-of-interest policy precludes consideration of articles written by an author who has a financial relationship with any commercial entity that may have an interest in the subject matter of the article.