FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2015
CONTACT: Robert Phillips, MD, MSPH
888-995-5700, ext 1253
Collaborative network will join federal government and other partners in supporting large-scale health care transformation among clinician practices
Lexington, KY – The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is one of 39 health care collaborative networks selected to participate in the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative, announced today by Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. The ABFM, in partnership with the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), will receive up to
$538,000 to provide technical assistance support to help equip clinicians in the United States with tools, information, and network support needed to improve quality of care, increase patients’ access to information, and spend health care dollars more wisely.
“Supporting doctors and other health care professionals change the way they work is critical to improving quality and spending our health care dollars more wisely,” said Secretary
Burwell. “These awards will give patients more of the information they need to make informed decisions about their care and give clinicians access to information and support to improve care coordination and quality outcomes.”
As a Support and Aligning Network (SAN), the ABFM and AAFP will support 25,000-40,000 clinicians to expand their quality improvement capacity, learn from one another, and achieve common goals of improved care, better health, and reduced cost. The network will develop a
Member Interest Group learning collaborative for TCPI family physicians, offer developed practice performance coaching guides as options for Practice Transformation Networks (PTN) to use in helping practices transform, and give Maintenance of Certification (MOC) and Continuing
Medical Education (CME) credit to PTN family physicians to help participating clinicians meet the initiative’s phases of transformation and associated milestones, clinical and operational results. The ABFM will also cover the cost for more than 6,000 PTN family physicians to utilize the PRIME Registry as a mechanism for turning their electronic health record data into information to help improve practice quality, report quality measures to meet federal requirements, and enhance MOC. The PRIME Registry will also be available to other physicians who work with family physicians to support practice improvement.
“The American Academy of Family Physicians is pleased to support the Transforming Clinical
Practice Initiative,” said Robert Wergin, MD, president of the AAFP. “Together with the ABFM,

we will work to support recruitment for and communication about the important work being done to facilitate practice transformation for large and small practices to strengthen the quality of patient care and spend health care dollars more wisely.” “This is a logical partnership to support the specialty that provides 1-in-5 healthcare visits in the US every year,” says ABFM Vice
President and grant project director, Dr. Robert Phillips. “The ABFM and AAFP have a shared mission to help family physicians improve care and are glad to be part of an effort to bring resources to their practices to help make it happen. In addition to MOC support, the ABFM will invest nearly $2 for every $1 in grant funding in order to help make the PRIME Registry a valued support to practice transformation.”
These awards are part of a comprehensive strategy advanced by the Affordable Care Act that enables new levels of coordination, continuity, and integration of care, while transitioning volume-driven systems to value-based, patient-centered, health care services. It builds upon successful models and programs such as the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Organization
Program, Partnership for Patients with Hospital Engagement Networks, and Accountable Care
Organizations.
For more information on the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative, please visit: http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/Transforming-Clinical-Practices/
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The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is the second-largest medical specialty board in the
United States. Founded in 1969, it is a voluntary, not-for-profit, private organization whose objective is to encourage excellence in medical care. The ABFM believes that its certified family physicians have successfully demonstrated their ability and have proven their commitment to the public, the specialty of
Family Medicine and the profession.
Through its certification and recertification processes, the ABFM seeks to provide patients the assurance that its certified family physicians have completed the necessary training/experience to provide quality care to the individual and the family and that this commitment to excellence is maintained throughout the physician’s years of practice.
About the American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 120,900 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.
Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits -- that’s 214 million visits annually --
48 percent more than to the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.
To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media . For

information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s award-winning consumer website, www.FamilyDoctor.org(www.familydoctor.org) .