ADFM’S MISSION, VISION, AND GOALS: FOUNDATION OF OUR NEW 3-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN

Two years ago, with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the leadership of ADFM began to think strategically about the direction for our organization during these unprecedented times. The new health care reform contained specific programs to enhance payment for primary care services, promote development of medical homes, expand use of health care technology, fuel growth of community health centers and FQHCs, and promote delivery of preventive services as well as many other important changes. We recognized that new payment mechanisms would emerge both from federal health reform and from elective evolution of the commercial market. Virtually every one of these new ideas relied then, and continues to rely now, on the availability of high functioning primary care, far in excess of existing primary care services.

As we considered how to take advantage of the many opportunities while maintaining our fundamental goal to serve departments of family medicine, the ADFM Executive Committee, in consultation with the Board of Directors, identified 5 challenges facing ADFM: (1) managing the growth of ADFM including the increasing complexity of membership involving both chairs and administrators of departments of family medicine; (2) diversifying our services to help both chairs and administrators perform their jobs more effectively; (3) growing our very limited resources; (4) focusing our work to have maximal influence during this unprecedented time; and (5) maximizing our collaborative relationships within and outside family medicine to help create a better future.

Two priorities emerged for ADFM as the leadership and board considered how to address these challenges: (1) to help departments of family medicine do a better job; and (2) to impact the external environment in a way that leverages our departments’ skill sets, expertise, and competencies to improve public health. In November 2010, we engaged our members to carefully consider how best to organize ADFM to address these priorities. These critical conversations confirmed the importance of maintaining both the strength of our winter meeting and our advocacy collaboration with other academic family medicine organizations. Also emerging from these discussions was the need for focused work in 4 areas: (1) developing leaders in departments of family medicine; (2) transforming education; (3) transforming health care delivery; and (4) developing research capacity. Four new strategic committees aligned with these areas, each with defined membership, expectations, and accountability to the board, were formed in 2011 and quickly took on focused activities.

All of this momentum galvanizing ADFM’s focus in 2010 and 2011 led the Board to engage outside consultation in late 2011 to move us from strategic thinking to delineation of a complete 3-year strategic plan to guide ADFM. The board of directors, with feedback from the membership of ADFM, has since approved the following mission, vision, and goals for ADFM in a new 3-year (2012–2015) Strategic Plan.

• © 2012 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.