The value of a family physician.

Abstract

Family physicians prioritize and deliver care according to a broad agenda based on patient needs. These needs are understood within ongoing relationships with the patient, family, larger health care system, and community. This integrative approach includes numerous avenues for affecting important patient outcomes that are unlikely to be optimally met by less integrated models of medical care. Expanding the value of family practice will require the development and application of new knowledge of the core structures, processes, and contexts of family practice, and their effects on patient outcomes.