Ensuring continuity of care by small family practices and clinics in the primary care setting during COVID 19 pandemic 2020 - A position paper by the Academy of Family Physicians of India.

The world is passing through a global pandemic of COVID 19. The number of positive cases has crossed over twenty thousand as of April 2020. Like everyone else, it is indeed a very challenging situation for family physicians and primary care providers as most of the guidelines presently have focused on screening, quarantine, isolation, and hospital-based management. Limited information or clarity is available on running small private clinics during pandemic times. The key concern is professional obligation versus risks of community transmission. Family physicians see routine flu-like illnesses throughout the year with seasonal variation within their practices. This document is intended to develop consensus and standard practices for the family physicians and other primary care providers during the pandemic, ensuring optimal continuity of care. This document was reviewed by the national executive of the Academy of Family Physicians of India and approved for dissemination among members. However, due to the dynamic status of the pandemic, all practitioners are advised to closely follow the instructions, guidelines, and advisories of national, state and local health authorities as well.

A Statement of Solidarity on COVID-19 Pandemic 2020 by the South Asian Family Physicians.

The World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) is a not-for-profit organization and was founded in 1972 by member organizations in 18 countries. WONCA now has 118 Member Organizations in 131 countries and territories with a membership of about 500,000 family doctors and more than 90 percent of the world's population. WONCA has seven regions, each of which has its own regional Council and run their own regional activities including conferences. WONCA South Asia Region is constituted by the national academies and colleges and academic member organizations of this region namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. In the background of the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, the office bearers, academic leaders, practitioners, and researchers of primary care from the South Asia Region have issued a solidarity statement articulating the role of primary care physicians.

Strengths and limitations of a family physician.

Family physicians (FP) practising in different parts of the world may require different sets of knowledge and skills to satisfy the needs of the communities in which they work as well as the requirements of the professional bodies with which they are registered. This article gives an overview of the strengths and limitations of the FP globally and more specifically within India, South Africa, and the United States of America. The historical context and evolution of FM as a clinical and academic discipline is discussed in this article. The article recommends suggestions for a better future for Family Medicine as a specialty thereby providing quality primary healthcare to the community, based on the needs of the population of each country.

Family medicine: Perception and attitudes among Indian medical students.

CONTEXT: Currently, family medicine is not taught as a part of the undergraduate medical curriculum in India. In this context, the perceptions and attitudes of Indian medical students regarding family medicine as a career choice were studied. AIMS: This study aims to study the perceptions and attitudes prevalent among Indian medical students regarding family medicine as a career choice and discuss its future implications. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study design. METHODS AND MATERIAL: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate medical (MBBS) students attending the 2016 medical student conference DEMEDCON at Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College in Kolar, Karnataka, India. Besides demographics, the survey included questions pertaining to awareness, exposure, and interest in family medicine in India. We also asked an open-ended question regarding the respondent's perception of the future of family medicine in India. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Simple statistics such as mean and frequency (%) were calculated. Given the small sample size, no formal tests for statistical significance were performed. RESULTS: Responses were collected from 45 students between the ages of 18-24 from 6 medical colleges across Karnataka and Puducherry. The majority (64%) of respondents were in their 3rd or 4th year of medical college. 98% of respondents expressed a desire to learn more about family medicine as a specialty, and 82% expressed a need to introduce it as a subject in medical college. However, only 58% were aware of the Medical Council of India accredited status of family medicine in India. CONCLUSIONS: There exists a significant lack of awareness and inadequate exposure among Indian medical students toward family medicine. Nonetheless, there is widespread optimism and a desire to learn more about the subject. Increased awareness and avenues for exposure to family medicine in the formal undergraduate medical curriculum is the need of the hour.

The 2017 Academic College of Emergency Experts and Academy of Family Physicians of India position statement on preventing violence against health-care workers and vandalization of health-care facilities in India.

There have been multiple incidents where doctors have been assaulted by patient relatives and hospital facilities have been vandalized. This has led to mass agitations by Physicians across India. Violence and vandalism against health-care workers (HCWs) is one of the biggest public health and patient care challenge in India. The sheer intensity of emotional hijack and the stress levels in both practicing HCWs and patient relative's needs immediate and detail attention. The suffering of HCWs who are hurt, the damage to hospital facilities and the reactionary agitation which affects patients who need care are all together doing everything to damage the delivery of health care and relationship between a doctor and a patient. This is detrimental to India where illnesses and Injuries continue to be the biggest challenge to its growth curve. The expert group set by The Academic College of Emergency Experts and The Academy of Family Physicians of India makes an effort to study this Public Health and Patient Care Challenge and provide recommendations to solve it.