Quality Health Care, Public Trust...Setting the Standards in Family Medicine.
Lexington, KY
| Monday | 8am - 9pm |
| Tuesday | 8am - 9pm |
| Wednesday | 8am - 9pm |
| Thursday | 8am - 9pm |
| Friday | 8am - 9pm |
| Saturday | 9am - 5pm |
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Founded in 1969, ABFM is a not-for-profit, private organization whose mission is to improve the health of the public through Board Certification, Residency Training, Research, Leadership Development, and promoting the development of the specialty of Family Medicine. As of summer 2018, ABFM has more than 92,000 Diplomates and is the third largest of 24 boards that make up the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Through ABMS, the specialty boards work together to establish common standards for physicians to achieve and maintain board certification.
ABFM was the first purely primary care specialty board of ABMS. ABFM administered its first Certification Examination in 1970 and was the first ABMS specialty board to issue time-limited certificates, requiring recertification every seven years over the Diplomate’s (the term used to describe a board-certified physician) professional lifespan. Other notable facts include being: the first board to require continuing medical education (CME) for re-certification; the first, and currently only, board to include other specialists on its Board of Directors; the only board that has the same standard of knowledge for initial certification as it does for recertification; among the first to have public members on its Board; and the only one to publish its own journal.
ABFM’s primary role is to support family physicians who are committed to achieving excellence in improving the health of their patients, their families, and their communities. Certification is voluntary, requires attaining high standards and a lifelong commitment to learning and professional development. In addition to maintaining the highest ethical standards, Diplomates must continuously hold medical licenses which meet the licensure requirements of the Guidelines for Professionalism, Licensure, and Personal Conduct. Every 10 years, Diplomates must pass an independent test of medical knowledge. What follows gives more detail about each of the components of certification, along with the rationale and current evidence of effectiveness.
