Advocating to Health Systems

Here are some key talking points to position academic family medicine in health systems.

"Family Physicians Are Uniquely Qualified to Be in Leadership Positions in Health Systems"

Family physicians have broad medical training with an understanding of how specialties work together for optimal patient health.
“Family physicians are well positioned to take the lead in implementing health system reforms that improve value and patient-oriented outcomes.”
Family physicians have received training on effective communication.

Family physicians are the answer to the primary care shortage in health systems. They are trained to diagnose and treat a broad range of diseases and conditions in patients of all ages.
On average, family physicians generate nine times their income in hospital revenue, which is a higher ROI than most specialties.
Nurse practitioners and PAs play an important role in family medicine practices, allowing for larger patient panel sizes and a broader scope of practice for family physicians. This team-based care is an effective strategy to mitigate the undersupply of primary care physicians.
Family physician job descriptions should reflect family medicine’s unique, broad scope.
Family physicians are uniquely qualified to care for patients with complex multimorbidity, behavioral health, and social issues—and to understand how to do that within the context of family and community, helping health systems meet their commitments to communities.

Health care systems based on primary care have better quality of care, better population health, greater equity, and lower cost.
Family medicine is more than a referral source.
Family medicine training produces physicians who are versatile; this was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when family physicians led health systems changes, served as first point of contact for patients, rounded in COVID wards, set up vaccination clinics, and became community spokespeople and advocates.
Family medicine provides comprehensive, coordinated, team-based care directed at meeting the Quadruple Aim, which will be critical to health system profitability during and after the transition to fee-for-value payment.
Resources should be directed towards meeting the Person-Centered Primary Care Measures. Meeting the measures can help systems meet social missions for population health, equity, quality, and sustainable health care expenditures.
Enhancing the role of family medicine within health care systems is the only viable option for reducing hospital admissions.
Systems that seek to be successful with risk-based contracts need to make an investment in high-performing primary care teams to reduce the cost of care and improve outcomes.

Lin K. Family Physicians are Natural Health System Leaders. American Family Physician Community Blog. May 19, 2014. http://afpjournal.blogspot.com/2014/05/family-physicians-are-natural-health.html
Miller, P. New Survey Shows Physicians are Key Revenue Generators for Hospitals. Merritt Hawkins Physicians Staffing Blog. //www.merritthawkins.com/news-and-insights/blog/healthcare-news-and-trends/new-survey-shows-physicians-are-key-revenue-generators-for-hospitals/. Accessed March 2, 2020.
Dai M, Ingham RC, Peterson LE. Scope of Practice and Patient Panel Size of Family Physicians Who Work With Nurse Practitioners or Physician Assistants. Fam Med. 2019;51(4):311-318. https://doi.org/10.22454/FamMed.2019.438954.
Phillips R, Pugno P et al. Health Is Primary: Family Medicine for America’s Health. The Annals of Family Medicine. Oct 2014, 12 (Suppl 1) S1-S12; DOI: 10.1370/afm.1699