American Board of Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Doctors provide acute, chronic, and preventive medical care services, disease and illness management, and more.
Family doctors are personal physicians who deliver a range of acute, chronic, and preventive medical care services to individuals of all ages, families and communities. In addition to diagnosing and treating illness, they also provide preventive care, including routine checkups, health-risk assessments, immunization and screening tests, and personalized counseling on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Family physicians also manage chronic illness, often coordinating care provided by other subspecialists.
Subspecialties
Adolescent Medicine
A family physician who specializes in Adolescent Medicine is a multidisciplinary health care specialist trained in the unique physical, psychological and social characteristics of adolescents and their health care problems and needs.
Geriatric Medicine
A family physician with special knowledge of the aging process and special skills in the diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive, and rehabilitative aspects of illness in the elderly. This specialist cares for geriatric patients in the patient’s home, the office, long-term care settings such as nursing homes, and the hospital.
Health Care Administration, Leadership, and Management
A specialist in this area has the clinical background and comprehensive expertise in health care administration to manage administrative functions with high-level organizational impact. The specialist is dedicated to a patient’s experience and an organization’s effectiveness while working with stakeholders to improve professionalism/organizational culture and spearhead process improvement and patient safety. These leaders can serve in an executive health care management position, such as a C-suite executive, vice president, dean, or medical director in a hospital, health system, academic setting, or government agency.
Hospice and Palliative Medicine
A family physician who specializes in Hospice and Palliative Medicine provides care to prevent and relieve the suffering experienced by patients with life-limiting illnesses. This specialist works with an interdisciplinary hospice or palliative care team to optimize quality of life while addressing the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of both patient and family.
Pain Medicine
A family physician who specializes in Pain Medicine provides care for patients with acute, chronic and/or cancer pain in both inpatient and outpatient settings while coordinating patient care needs with other specialists.
Sleep Medicine
A family physician with demonstrated expertise in the diagnosis and management of clinical conditions that occur during sleep, that disturb sleep, or that are affected by disturbances in the wake-sleep cycle. This specialist is skilled in the analysis and interpretation of comprehensive polysomnography, and well-versed in emerging research and management of a sleep laboratory.
Sports Medicine
A family physician who specializes in preventing, diagnosing and treating injuries related to participating in sports and/or exercise. In addition to the study of those fields that focus on prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of injuries, Sports Medicine also deals with illnesses and diseases that might have effects on health and physical performance.
