2019 AAFP Member Satisfaction Survey Is Coming Soon

On Saturday, April 6, every active member of the AAFP -- about 72,000 family physicians -- will receive an email with a link to the Academy's 2019 Member Satisfaction Survey. And for the first time, the survey also is being sent to each of the Academy's 13,000 resident members. The survey, which should only take about 10 minutes to complete, contains a number of questions you can answer to help shape the direction of the Academy -- and the specialty of family medicine -- going forward.

Among other things, the survey asks members a series of questions about the value of Academy membership, the AAFP's ongoing advocacy efforts and what issues should be at the top of the Academy's list of priorities for 2019. Of particular interest, this year's survey asks active members about the effects of administrative burden on their practices. The survey going to residents will ask a series of similar (but not identical) questions.

Although you are encouraged to respond as quickly as possible, members will have until April 29 to complete the survey. Additional reminders will be emailed later this month, and reminders also will be posted on the AAFP's various social media channels.

Once the responses have been tabulated, the AAFP will analyze the results within the context of the Academy's strategic plan and use that information to determine where the organization needs to put its resources to best serve members' needs.

Members who complete the survey will receive a summary of the key findings later this year so they'll know what matters most to their fellow family physicians and what they are asking the Academy to do for them.

The survey comes at a crucial time for the Academy and for family medicine. In the past couple of years, the AAFP has focused its efforts on addressing a number of issues important to family physicians, ranging from reducing administrative burden and enacting payment reform to ensuring physician well-being and improving the focus and process of continuing certification.

Much of the Academy's recent work on the issues mentioned above is based on the feedback that members like you provided in the 2017 and 2018 member surveys. Likewise, the feedback you provide in this year's survey will help steer the AAFP's advocacy efforts in 2019 and beyond.

Although the Academy has surveyed a random sample of members about their priorities and satisfaction with the AAFP's work every year since 1992, this is the third consecutive year that the AAFP is sending the Member Satisfaction Survey to every active member.

It's a lot of work, but it's worth the effort. The simple fact is that the AAFP is a member organization. Member input has guided the direction of the Academy since its founding, and member input is what will keep it focused on what matters most to family physicians in the months and years to come.