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The Future of Family Medicine

The Future of Family Medicine (FFM) report documents the current crisis in the U.S. health care system and how family physicians are uniquely positioned to address it.

The goal of the Future of Family Medicine project was "to develop a strategy to transform and renew the specialty of family medicine to meet the needs of patients in a changing health care environment." The project was a joint effort of the Family Medicine Working Party and the Academic Family Medicine Organizations. The 4-year project resulted in a series of Task Force reports culminating in a final report that offered specific recommendations and an urgent call for action.

A centerpiece of the transformation proposed by the project is the new model practice. The FFM project proposed the creation of a national-level organization that would evaluate, support, and guide family and primary practices in their efforts to adopt a new model of care. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) took a leadership role in creating a new initiative, TransforMED, to put the FFM recommendations into action.

Today TransforMED is translating the core components of the model of care recommendations of the FFM report into operational activities that support and elevate the greater goals of the profession.

Seven national family medicine sponsor organizations initiated and provided financial support for the multi-million dollar FFM Project.

Declarations of support for the FFM project were received from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Physician Assistants, American Cancer Society, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca), and the AARP.