Texas Academy of Family Physicians

The Texas Academy of Family Physicians (TAFP) is the state of Texas' largest medical specialty organization, with more than 5,500 member physicians, residents and medical students throughout 33 local chapters. TAFP serves the family medicine community and provides its members with a unified voice for family medicine in Texas. The American Academy of Family Physicians, TAFP’s parent organization, maintains a membership of more than 94,000 members in 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.

Today the Texas Academy of Family Physicians maintains its headquarters in Austin, Texas.

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Governance structure

The Academy is governed by a board of directors, comprised of the TAFP Leadership and TAFP members from various local chapters. The board establishes and reviews policy and plans of the Academy during the TAFP Interim Session and Annual Session meetings. Members also serve on TAFP committees, commissions, task forces and sections where they study, analyze and make informed policy recommendations to the board.

Major purposes of the Academy

a) Advocating for family physicians to lawmakers, organized medicine and the public;

b) Providing high quality continuing medical education to physicians in Texas;

c) Keeping members informed of changes in health care; and

d) Nurturing the next generation of family physicians.

Advocacy

TAFP tracks and lobbies for legislation impacting family physicians and their patients. The Texas Academy of Family Physicians Political Action Committee (TAFPPAC), speaks on behalf of Texas family physicians and their patients through grassroots involvement, personal relationships with elected officials and political campaign participation and contributions. TAFPPAC is a non-partisan political action committee that supports candidates who support issues important to family physicians and their patients.

Education

The Academy equips family physicians with beneficial tools for the continual improvement of the specialty. To do this, TAFP promotes the constant education of members to assist them with meeting the required 150 hours of approved continuing education every three years to retain membership. This requirement may be met through continuing education programs, the PrimeCME program, publication or presentation of original scientific papers, medical school or postgraduate teaching, residency training, etc. The requirement, unique at its time of origin, has, through the years, become a standard for an increasing number of other medical groups. TAFP offers four CME symposia throughout the year: the Annual Scientific Assembly, the C. Frank Webber Lectureship, the Doctors in Motion Winter Symposium and the Primary Care Summit.

Communication

TAFP communicates to its members through its Web site that contains information about CME activities, legislative issues, current medical news and other helpful resources. The Academy publishes a quarterly magazine, Texas Family Physician, and several other smaller publications throughout the year. Members receive QuickInfo, an electronic newsletter, and the Members’ Update, direct communication from TAFP’s President.

TAFP Foundation

The Texas Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, organized in 1960, supports educational and scientific initiatives of family medicine. Through contributions of members, corporations and friends, the Foundation is able to raise and distribute funds for medical student scholarships to future family physicians, for research, for family medicine student interest group activities at medical schools in Texas and for family medicine resident activities.

History

TAFP was founded on March 16, 1948, as the Texas Academy of General Practitioners, making it the fifth chartered state chapter of the AAGP. J.B. Copeland, M.D., served as the first TAGP president. Once the American Academy of General Practitioners changed its name to the American Academy of Family Physicians, Texas soon followed suit.