American Board of Family Practice definition
Last reviewed 01/2018
The ABFP definition refers to family practice as:
- the point of entry into the health care system
- continuous over time in sickness and in health
- comprehensively covering all major traditional disciplines
- coordinating all health care needs
- taking responsibility for follow-up of the individual and the community
- highly personalised
(quoted by J Murtagh in General Practice 1e 1994)