MU School of Medicine Professor to Serve on Elite Medical Society

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has appointed James Stevermer, MD, vice chair and professor for the department of family and community medicine at the MU School of Medicine, to a four-year term on the AAFP’s Commission on Health of the Public and Science. The AAFP represents 120,900 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

Stevermer, a primary care physician and medical director of MU Health Care’s Family Medicine-Callaway Clinic in Fulton, Missouri, also serves as medicine education director of the MU-Area Health Education Center, is an assistant director of MU’s family medicine residency program and leads MU Family and Community Medicine’s clinical policies committee.

“Stevermer is the perfect choice for this important role,” said Steven Zweig, MD, Paul Revare Family Endowed Professor and Chair at the MU School of Medicine and director of the MU Interdisciplinary Center on Aging. “He practices patient-centered care using the best evidence available. The American Academy of Family Physician’s Commission on Health of the Public and Science will benefit from his incredible intellect and commitment to his patients.”

The Commission on Health of the Public and Science is one of seven commissions that directs AAFP policies and programs. The commission oversees the development of guidelines for public health policies, evidence-based clinical recommendations and care, new scientific knowledge with dissemination and implementation, and issues of disparities and underserved populations.

To maintain membership in the American Academy of Family Physicians, Stevermer is required to complete a minimum of 150 hours of continuing medical education every three years. The AAFP was the first national medical specialty organization to set continuing education requirements for its members. This requirement helps ensure family physician members stay current on the most up-to-date medical technologies, research and techniques.

Approximately one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is nearly 214 million office visits each year — nearly 74 million more than the next largest medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.

With more than 100,000 members, the American Academy of Family Physicians is one of the largest medical organizations in the United States.

MU’s Department of Family and Community Medicine has received several national accolades, including a recent seventh place ranking for the specialty of family medicine by the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools. The department has been ranked in the U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 for 22 consecutive years. In addition, the AAFP recently presented the MU School Medicine with its Top 10 Award, an award recognizing medical schools with the greatest number of graduates going into family medicine residencies. MU School of Medicine was also named one of the nation’s best residency training programs for family physicians by Doximity, a California-based professional network for physicians.