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Welcome to the Family, More Than 'Referralists'-Reply
John L. Clowe, MD
Chicago, Ill
Arch Fam Med. 1993;2(3):244.
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In reply
The study I described by the AMA Council on Long Range Planning and Development in cooperation with the American Academy of Family Physicians1 identified factors that were likely to influence the future of family practice. The study findings were meant to be descriptive, not prescriptive. The fact is, fewer family physicians are including obstetrics in their practices, as the Council predicted and as was noted at the Academy's annual meeting in San Diego, Calif (American Medical News, November 16, 1992:45). Thirty years ago, the majority of family physicians did some obstetrics; today only 25% to 30% do. This is not to say what should happen, merely what is happening. Liability issues have played a part, as have life-style choices and availability of obstetric training.
My comments citing the importance of the family physician as patient advocate and case manager were not meant to "relegat[e] family physicians to the role of
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
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