As part of the overall strategic initiative, the AAFP is also launching “Health is Primary,” a public outreach project that will, among other things, visit a number of cities to showcase primary care interventions that are meeting the Triple Aim.
The cities have not been chosen yet, but the tour will begin in January, said Dr. Stream.
Dr. Don Berwick, who has been a chief promoter of the Triple Aim through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and when he was administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, applauded the AAFP campaign.
“Bravo to family medicine for taking leadership here,” said Dr. Berwick at the briefing. “You’ll have me rooting for you from now on,” he said.
In a plenary address to the AAFP Scientific Assembly, Sylvia Burwell, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services said, “When it comes to improving the way providers are paid, I want you to know that we share your commitment to rewarding value and care coordination, rather than volume and care duplication. Like you, we want to pay providers for what works – whether it’s something as complex as preventing or treating disease or something as straightforward as making sure that you have time to answer a patient’s questions.”
Although most of the campaign’s goals are aligned with those of the AAFP, its efforts are more urgent and more inclusive, Dr. Stream said. The campaign’s board includes representatives from the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, the American Board of Family Medicine, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, the North American Primary Care Research Group, and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. Other board members include a rural physician, a new physician, an association executive, and a representative from the National Partnership for Women and Families.