As AAFP members, we all are aware of the many changes in health care that have occurred during the past decade. Thanks to the Future of Family Medicine (FFM) project, we have been prepared for many of these transformations, and, indeed, the AAFP has had a hand in promulgating the drive to put primary care and family physicians, in particular, at the foundation of the new health care system.

However, the work we did on the FFM project as part of the Family Medicine Working Party was done more than 10 years ago, and a lot has changed in health care in the United States since then.

That is why we need your help now. The Family Medicine Working Party once again is initiating a project to look at the future of family medicine, and we need you to contribute your thoughts on how family physicians can help make the health care system in the United States a strong, vibrant system based on primary care. What do our specialty and our practices need to be successful in this system? As you read through the following information on the project, we ask that you think about the past, present, and future of family medicine. Then we invite you to comment, either via the comments field at the end of this article or by sending us an e-mail so your voice can be heard.

In late August, the Family Medicine Working Party launched a follow-up initiative to the FFM project, which was conducted more than a decade ago. The goal of this effort -- Family Medicine for America's Health: Future of Family Medicine 2.0 -- is to examine the challenges and opportunities facing family medicine today and define a path forward in the context of a rapidly changing health care landscape.

Twelve years ago, the seven national family medicine organizations initiated the FFM project. The goal of the FFM project was to develop a strategy to transform and renew the discipline of family medicine to meet the needs of patients in a changing health care environment. At the time, it was clear that fundamental flaws in the fragmented U.S. health care system could be addressed through the integrative, generalist approach that is -- and has always been -- the hallmark of family medicine.

Extensive national research, conducted by independent firms along with five internal task forces, focused on key issues facing family medicine. The project identified core values; a new model of practice; and a process for development, research, education, partnership and change with the greatest potential to transform the ability of family medicine to improve the health and health care of the nation. The new model of practice established through the FFM project had the following characteristics:

The study concluded that family medicine needed to oversee the training of family physicians who are committed to excellence, believe in the core values of the discipline, able to provide family medicine's basket of services within the new model, and capable of adapting to varying patient needs and changing care technologies.

Significant change has occurred in the decade-plus since the initiation of the FFM project. This period has been marked by active experimentation within the specialty, and much good work has been accomplished, most notably, the implementation of the new model of care now known as the patient-centered medical home (PCMH).

Despite enormous progress -- including the emergence of the PCMH as a central component of the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- many new issues and questions confront the specialty. This combined with the significant changes underway in our health care system have prompted us to revisit the FFM project. The goal of this new effort is to look through today's lens at the challenges and opportunities facing family medicine in order to

As part of this process, the family medicine organizations will consider the following questions:

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Have Your Say on the Future of Family Medicine