The American Board of Family Medicine's Data Collection Method for Tracking Their Specialty

Abstract

Background: Medical certifying boards' core mission is assuring the public that Diplomates have the requisite knowledge, skills, and professional character to provide high-quality medical care. By understanding their Diplomates' workforce and practice environments, Boards ensure that certification is relevant to the profession and accountable to the public. Current and reliable data are key to meeting this function. The objective of this article was to describe American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) data collection procedures and demonstrate the capacity to compare cohorts by examination year. Methods: We used data from ABFM examination application practice demographic questionnaires from 2013 to 2016. Descriptive and bivariate statistics assessed variation in Diplomate and certification candidate characteristics across examination cohorts. Results: From 2013 to 2016, 55,532 family physicians applied for either initial certification (n ‫؍‬ 15,388) or to continue their certification (n ‫؍‬ 40,144). Diplomate characteristics varied slightly from year to year with more International Medical Graduates and fewer men in later cohorts but, these differences were not large between cohorts. Initial certification candidates were more likely to be women, and racial or ethnic minorities than Diplomates seeking to continue their certification, and each year's cohort was characterized by increasing numbers of female and US medical graduates. Discussion: Data collected from Diplomates as part of examination registration have proved invaluable to serving the mission of the ABFM and advancing knowledge about the specialty of family medicine. Continued refinement of data collection to enhance data reliability and usefulness, while reducing collection burden, will continue.

Associations Between Burnout and Practice Organization in Family Physicians

“…We used data from the 2017 American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Family Medicine Certification Examination registration questionnaire of practicing physicians seeking to continue board certification. 17 The questionnaire is a mandatory component of examination registration and is completed 3 to 4 months prior to the examination date. The questionnaire asks about practice type and ownership, scope of practice, and practice features.…”

“…18 Prior work has shown that respondents to each module have characteristics similar to all examinees. 17 The certification examination is administered twice per year and if registered twice, the most recent responses were analyzed. Physician demographics (age, sex, and degree type) were obtained from ABFM administrative databases.…”

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Family Physicians Providing E-Visits

“…We analyzed data from the 2017 American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Family Medicine Certification Examination practice demographic registration questionnaire for those seeking to continue their certification. 29 The questionnaire is a mandatory component of examination registration and is completed 3 to 4 months before examination day. The questionnaire asks about scope of practice, practice organization, practice location, practice ownership, practice size, and provider specialty mix, among others.…”

Family Physicians' Contributions to Rural Emergency Care and Urban Urgent Care

“…We used data from the 2017 American Board of Family Medicine Family Medicine Certification Examination registration questionnaire. 3 FPs primarily working in EDs and UCCs were identified if they did not provide continuity care and instead indicated ED or UCC as their primary practice setting. FPs covering EDs or UCCs were identified as those who primarily provided continuity care but indicated that they also saw patients in ED or UCC settings.…”