The North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) has been an active partner in the Future of Family Medicine (FFM) project and is committed to moving the FFM recommendations forward. To this end, NAPCRG has created a task force to develop strategies and provide oversight for accomplishing its work of the NAPCRG FFM action plan. This brief report summarizes the work of the task force to date and sets out the work plan for the task force and NAPCRG.
The task force has been guided by some basic assumptions: NAPCRG’s vision is that the generation of new knowledge needs to be infused into nearly all components of the FFM plan and needs to become part of the fabric of what it means to be a family physician. NAPCRG is therefore eager to partner with other organizations and individuals to help meet the aims of all 10 recommendations. The NAPCRG Board agrees to take the leadership role in accomplishing the FFM recommendation on enhancing the science of family medicine, with the American Academy of Family Physicians and Association of Departments of Family Medicine serving as collaborators. We invite others to be proactive in working with us to advance the research infrastructure and science base of family medicine.
As leader of this recommendation, NAPCRG will take responsibility for the following:
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Creating an overarching framework (including processes for outcomes measurement) by which to approach the work that needs to be done to accomplish the recommendation
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Developing specific strategies for accomplishing the recommendation
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Inviting appropriate partners to participate in the planning and accomplishment of the strategies
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Providing follow-up to help ensure that the work committed to is accomplished
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Providing staff to help plan and coordinate activities
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Providing financial support for accomplishing the NAPCRG FFM action plan, as approved by the NAP-CRG Board
Progress to Date
The task force’s first accomplishment has been in creating a framework for achieving the FFM recommendation of enhancing the science of family medicine.
The research process, as outlined in Table 1⇓, provides a helpful perspective for planning actions to enhance the science base of family medicine. The steps of the research process, like the FFM plan, are highly interrelated, and require a team process and individual initiative and leadership.
Challenges and Opportunities for Family Medicine in the Research Process
In addition, the task force is pleased to report that the American Academy of Family Physicians is now actively supporting the adoption of the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) as a primary care-relevant information terminology standard for electronic health records. The AAFP decision is a welcome development that will help NAPCRG in its long-term commitment to advancing the ICPC. In addition, the task force plans to work with AHRQ to advocate for and develop a national human subjects protection and HIPAA authorization board for practice-based research networks. If you are interested in participating or learning more about the work of the task force, contact Stacy Brungardt, CAE, NAPCRG executive director, at napcrg{at}stfm.org.
- © 2004 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.
