Founded in 1947, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) represents family physicians, residents and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care. In the increasingly fragmented world of health care where many medical specialties limit their practice to a particular organ, disease, age or sex, family physicians are dedicated to treating the whole person across the full spectrum of ages. The cornerstone of family medicine is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.

AAFP Brand Promise

We are family physicians: the foundation of health care in America. We provide continuing and comprehensive medical care to patients regardless of gender, age, or issue. We are passionate, highly skilled professionals dedicated to serving our patients, their families, and the communities in which we live.

Standing together– 133,500 strong– we are the American Academy of Family Physicians. We are a membership organization in the purest sense: an association of family physicians led by family physicians. With our colleagues throughout the country, we work to solidify family medicine as the cornerstone of a functioning health care system. We lobby government, negotiate with payers, partner with employers, educate patients, and champion family medicine on the national stage.

Together, we ensure that every family physician is represented, respected, and rewarded.

Our Mission

Why We’re Here (Big Hint: It’s You)
You spend your days serving patients, families, and the community. At the AAFP, we spend our days serving YOU — our physician, resident, and medical student members.

Our vision is to transform health care to achieve optimal health for everyone. Our mission is to improve the health of patients, families, and communities by serving your needs with professionalism and creativity.

To advance the specialty of family medicine, strengthen physicians’ collective voice, and provide solutions to enhance the patient care you provide, we strive to:

• Support and sustain family medicine practices that ensure the value of your comprehensive services
• Reduce administrative complexity that detracts from patient care
• Equip you with clinical expertise to provide high quality, evidence-based care and address health disparities
• Grow a family physician workforce that fully represents our country’s diversity

As one of the nation's largest medical organizations, the AAFP has a rich history of being a champion of family medicine