American Board of Family Medicine

08/10/2026

Congratulations to Anastasia Countinho and Geoff Gusoff, selected by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) as the 2026 James C. Puffer, MD/ABFM Fellows!

Dr. Coutinho works at the California Department of Health Care Services in the Quality and Population Health Management Program, supporting the innovation, implementation, and quality improvement of California birthing care policies and programs. She also provides labor and delivery services and clinical consultations regarding sexual and reproductive healthcare through the Reproductive Health Hotline.

Dr. Gusoff is a family physician, health services researcher, and assistant professor in the department of family medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His work explores the social and structural determinants of health, with a focus on the impacts of collective ownership models in home care.

Learn more about Drs. Coutinho and Gusoff: https://bit.ly/4xupCIp

08/07/2026

While men comprise just over half of practicing family physicians (51.3%), women represent the majority of residents in family medicine residency training, highlighting the specialty's ongoing shift toward a majority female workforce. Read the Factbook: familymedicinefactbook.org

08/06/2026

A new study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine examined three common administrative burdens among 8,419 family physicians: tracking down external health information, prior authorization, and after-hours documentation ("pajama time"). Using data from the ABFM 2024 Continuous Certification Questionnaire, researchers found that more than three-quarters of family physicians experience at least one substantial administrative burden.

Read the study: https://bit.ly/4xk8Lb7

08/04/2026

A 77-year-old male with a history of coronary artery disease, placement of two drug-eluting stents, a previous myocardial infarction, and a previous stroke presents for follow-up. He remains very functional and maintains his activities of daily living. He currently takes carvedilol (Coreg), 12.5 mg twice daily; lisinopril (Zestril), 20 mg daily; chlorthalidone, 25 mg daily; atorvastatin (Lipitor), 80 mg daily; clopidogrel (Plavix), 75 mg daily; and aspirin, 81 mg daily. His vital signs are within normal limits and his physical examination is unremarkable. Laboratory studies include a hemoglobin A1c of 5.8%, an LDL-cholesterol level of 60 mg/dL, an HDL-cholesterol level of 55 mg/dL, and a fasting serum triglyceride level of 88 mg/dL.

Which one of the following therapies can be considered to improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients such as this?

A. Azithromycin
B. Colchicine (Colcrys)
C. Icosapent ethyl (Vascepa)
D. Methotrexate (Trexall)
E. Fish oil capsules

08/04/2026

08/03/2026

What defines medical professionalism today? Despite robust literature on the topic, a consistent definition of medical professionalism remains elusive. A new JABFM qualitative study found that professionalism includes foundational duties, relationship-based care, and communication, while patient trust is influenced by the broader practice and health care system. Read the full study: https://bit.ly/450JgzN

07/29/2026

In case you missed it... we recently kicked off our new podcast series exploring the recently released Family Medicine Factbook 2.0.

In Episode 1, Dr. Gary LeRoy talks with Dr. Andrew Bazemore about the Factbook's origins, the data behind it, and what it tells us about the evolving role of family physicians. Watch the interview here: https://bit.ly/4f9dOUo

Explore the Factbook here: familymedicinefactbook.org/

07/28/2026

A 27-year-old farmer comes to the office urgently after falling and lacerating his upper arm on a fence. The laceration is about 4 cm long and bleeding. The patient has no known allergies and is up to date with his tetanus immunization. He tells you that he has had lacerations stitched up in the past and thinks the "burning" associated with the local anesthetic is the worst part.

Which one of the following solutions would be LEAST likely to cause a burning sensation?

A. Lidocaine 1% with epinephrine 1:100,000
B. Lidocaine 1% with epinephrine 1:100,000 and sodium bicarbonate in a 3:1 ratio
C. Lidocaine 1% with epinephrine 1:100,000 and sodium bicarbonate in a 9:1 ratio
D. Bupivacaine 0.25%

07/24/2026

As of January 1, 2025, there were 105,809 ABFM board-certified family physicians. While the number of physicians in training has grown over the past 15 years, overall supply still hasn’t kept pace with demand, driven by growing patient complexity, more intensive care needs, and smaller patient panels per physician. Read the Factbook now: familymedicinefactbook.org

07/22/2026

Rural family physicians play a critical role in training the next generation of the health care workforce.
A new study of 14,789 early-career family physicians found that rural physicians reported higher rates of teaching medical learners, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant students than their urban peers. Rural physicians were especially likely to teach medical students and advanced practice professional students.

Read the study now: https://bit.ly/4yz3jT9