Distinguishing features of Family Medicine practice

Doctors with training in Family Medicine (FM) work in a wide variety of roles in Singapore. However, the FPAB has determined that FM practice is largely ambulatory in nature and has the following five key characteristics:

• Care should be provided to the patient and family.

• Care should be to a population in a community, and not be restricted to specific age groups or gender.

• Care should be comprehensive and holistic. This means that a wide range of services should be offered (including health promotion, preventive care, acute care, chronic care, and end-of-life care) to meet the needs of patients and families.

• There should be a continuing and longitudinal relationship between the patient and the doctor. Patients may be referred for more specialised care when needed, but continuity of care should be maintained.

• Care should be coordinated, in that the social and healthcare needs should be identified, and the doctor should coordinate care with other healthcare professionals and community resources.

In order to meet the requirements for currency of practice, doctors should ensure that they have at least 30 hours per month of practice for 1 year in the last 3 years that meets the definition of Family Medicine.