Seeing the Future of Family Medicine in Action at the Family Medicine Leadership Consortium Summer Retreat 2024
There are approximately 150,000 family physicians in the United States – myself among them – comprising 31% of the primary care workforce – more than any other specialty or professional designation. Family physicians are the bedrock of our healthcare system and contribute tremendous value to patients, their families, and society.
Yet, family medicine is in crisis today, facing an ongoing struggle against a healthcare system that wasn’t built for the work we do. Somehow, the headwinds seem to be exerting their oppositional forces no matter which direction family doctors turn. Consolidation, private equity, toxic payment models, administrative burden, technology – there are so many obstacles in our paths.
It is with this in mind that the Family Medicine Leadership Consortium met recently in Washington, D.C. for a special session to assess the current state of family medicine, the clinical model, the threats, and the opportunities that lie in latent potential.
The Family Medicine Leadership Consortium (FMLC) is a collaborative body of leaders representing 8 national family medicine organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Board of Family Medicine, the Society of Teachers in Family Medicine, and the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, among others. They typically meet twice a year, but called a special strategic session this August to address the state of family medicine and define a rescue plan, together.
Spanning two full days, densely packed with informational presentations followed by intense discussion groups, the event addressed the following agenda:
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Identify long term trends in family physician scope of practice and the key drivers of those trends
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Learn others’ perspectives of the role of family physicians in the healthcare system
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Explore “brights spots” in clinical practice and catalysts for change
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Ask “what next?”
Although I was not able to attend the entire event, I was both thrilled and honored to be invited to to give a brief presentation and lead a discussion about Direct Primary Care: The Brightest Spot in Family Medicine as part of the “Bright Spots” section of the agenda. Nestled between talks about artificial intelligence (AI) and team-based care, it felt wonderful to talk about things that are going really, really well in family medicine! The audience took great interest in my topic and had some important questions. For example:
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How can we ensure more family medicine residents have the opportunity to do rotations in the DPC practice environment?
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Could the DPC model ever work in the academic health setting?
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How is the true impact of DPC being measured so that we can fully legitimize the DPC movement as a viable practice model option for family physicians?
These are valid but complex questions, and the DPC community, historically inclined to divest themselves of traditional institutions, is ready to partner with these leaders in order to rescue more of our colleagues at ground zero, before they enter the primary care workforce post-residency.
We have a lot of work to do to rescue primary care in America, and it is very good to know that FMLC leaders are taking this seriously by analyzing what’s working alongside what’s not, on behalf of family physicians everywhere. This will take a massive collaborative effort, with all hands on deck, and the stakes are as high as they get. The health, wealth, and future of our nation are on the line.
