Kansas City Academy of Family Physicians

by Greg Markway, MD This is the first article contributed a member physician in lieu of our yearly printed newspaper supplement, dealing with the topic of direct patient care. Thank you, Dr Markway! The evolution of the practice of family medicine is occurring on many different formats. At the basis of all of these changes is the recognition that the most important part of family medicine is the patient-physician relationship. These changes are being driven in some measure by the patients’ sense of loss of that integral part of their medical care. Too many times in recent years the forms of practice are driven by governmental, insurance and EHR (Electronic Health Record) dictates. All of these are examples of the economic pressures that physicians face to continue to keep their practices economically viable. The result of these pressures is that physicians have increased the volume of patients seen on a daily basis thereby extremely limiting the amount of time they able to spend w

The Kansas City Academy of Family Physicians has, for years, published an annual spread in our local newspaper to highlight Family Medicine and family physicians in our local community. You can view our October 2014 supplement  here . As medicine and technology evolve, we decided to feature our member physicians' articles in this new venue. This blog will cover topics as varied as the scope of Family Medicine itself. At a recent meeting, the KCAFP board voted to support HealthyKC's "Tobacco 21" policy recommendation, supporting local ordinances that raise the legal age for purchase and sale of tobacco products to 21 for Greater Kansas City. Unfortunately, nearly one in five high school seniors in the Kansas City area use tobacco, and most lifelong smokers begin before the age of 21. Such policies have been shown to decrease high school tobacco use by 50%. HealthyKC's Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Action Team includes KCAFP board member Dr. Don Potts. 11/