AAFP picks doctors to test new practice care model

Family physicians hope that the national project will help them reshape the specialty.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. April 24, 2006.

Starting in June, 36 family practices will spend two years under the microscope as part of an effort to transform family medicine to a new model of care that is patient-centered and relies on electronic medical records.

The American Academy of Family Physicians this month announced the three dozen practices chosen to take part in a national demonstration project of TransforMED, an $8 million AAFP practice redesign initiative. The practices were selected from more than 300 applicants and represent a variety of practice sizes.

"This is a real-world learning lab that we want to help family physicians and hopefully other primary care [doctors] learn how to, in a cost-effective, efficient way, implement" an electronic health records system, said Terry McGeeney, MD, president and CEO of TransforMED.

Theresa Shupe, MD, is one of the physicians chosen for the project. She works in a group practice in Manassas, Va., but plans to open a solo practice in Haymarket, Va., about 40 miles from Washington, D.C.

She said the transition to a new model of care won't be easy, but she will embrace the changes to better serve patients, welcoming e-mail from patients and group visits. "I look forward to having a medical home for patients, better quality care and being able to improve the lives and the health of my patients."