J Am Board Fam Med
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Family medicine prides itself on community engagement and has embraced its counterculture roots. After the racial and social reckoning of 2020, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matters movement, family medicine, as a specialty, must embrace anti-racism as a core value to meet community needs. This article reflects on the foundational tenets of family medicine's origin. It highlights the current disparities regarding professional representation while offering equitable, intentional, and collaborative approaches to move toward and achieve anti-racism within the specialty, medical education, and the community.
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Female physicians earn less than their male counterparts, and many explanatory factors have been offered to account for these differences. An analysis of the 2019 American Board of Family Medicine New Graduate Survey Data demonstrates that women make 16% less than men, regardless of experience or hours worked.
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Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (MAT) is encouraged for primary care use, but evidence for effectiveness when fully integrated with primary care versus provided separately is limited. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 257 MAT patients in our family medicine clinic to assess retention in treatment for patients receiving MAT integrated with primary care compared with our MAT patients who received their primary care elsewhere. ⋯ In this rural family medicine clinic, MAT integrated with primary care was associated with higher retention in treatment. Providing MAT as a component of comprehensive primary care may be superior to referring patients to an outside source.
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Molecular tests (ie, real-time polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR]) and antigen tests are used to detect SARS-CoV-2. RT-PCR tests are generally considered to be the standard for clinical diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 due to accuracy and reliability but can take longer to return results than antigen tests. Our aim was to examine if point-of-care (POC) testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection would provide a flexible resource to help achieve workplace safety. We compared test results and time-to-test results between a POC RT-PCR test and a send-out PCR test in a program implemented in summer 2020. ⋯ POC testing for SARS-CoV-2 with RT-PCR technology is possible at reduced time compared with send-out PCR testing.
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Observational Study
Diversity of Department Chairs in Family Medicine at US Medical Schools.
As designated department leader, chairs need to be sensitive to diversity and inclusiveness for recruitment and retention of faculty and visibility to medical students and resident physicians. The purpose of this analysis is to describe diversity by sex and race/ethnicity of family medicine (FM) chairs as a beginning to understand trends. METHODS: This cross-sectional, observational study involved 2018 to 2020 data from the Association of American Medical Colleges Faculty Roster. ⋯ The proportions of Hispanic FM chairs, FM faculty, and medical school matriculants lagged behind the population. CONCLUSION: Diversity of department chairs in FM is greater than many other clinical departments and more representative of the US general population. Attention by chairs to leadership development of females and recruitment of Hispanic faculty are priorities.