New American Academy of Family Physicians president optimistic about future

The new president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) told thousands of his colleagues attending the AAFP's 2010 Scientific Assembly early this month in Denver that "now is our time."

Roland A. Goertz, MD, MBA, a family physician in Waco, Texas, expressed optimism about the future of family physicians post-healthcare reform. He told the audience at his induction as president on October 1 that the Patient-Centered Medical Home concept championed by the organization has earned support of patients and leaders in politics and business.

"Family medicine [has] an enormous opportunity to show our value and to change the system," Goertz said. "We, and the other primary care physician groups, are the only ones offering a significant change in the current care delivery model."