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Family Medicine Congressional Conference
Individual Physician Advocacy
Matthew Burke, MD
Faculty, Dept. of Family
Medicine
April 7th, 2014

2. Introduction
• As much a 80% of health comes
from social determinants
• Gains in quality and cost control must come from
policy that unites clinical expertise and public
resources
– Upstream vs. Downstream causation
• Primary care has a central role to play
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3. Objectives
• Know your worth
– You are the expert!
• Showcase efficient strategies for
– Planning your visit while keeping your day job
– Advocacy etiquette
– Follow up strategies
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4. Know your Worth!
• Changing healthcare landscape presents great
opportunities and challenges
• The ACA is largely an insurance vehicle, cost
and quality mechanisms are more opaque
• Centralizing primary care would best promote
positive changes
• Advocating for Family Medicine is advocating for
patients
• YOU are the expert!
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5. Time Constraints
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• We are all busy!
• Advocacy comes in many forms, some are not
labor intensive
• Organized resources are readily available
• Advocacy is about relationships, which take
time. This means no one contact is make or
break!
• Develop coalitions and friendships (colleagues,
state academies, paramedical organizations)

6. One Pagers
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• Reinforces the message
• Quick, to the point
• Has several key points
– Your contact
– Key message/problem
– Background of problem
– Policy ask/rationale
• Brief is good
• Liked as well as face to face interactions
• Graphs convey information quickly!

7. Advocacy Etiquette
• Be prepared to meet with legislative assistants, they’re
often as/more knowledgeable
• Punctuality and preparedness go far
• Always make introductions, remember the AAFP is
America’s largest single-specialty medical membership
organization (useful for state visits too)
• Avoid over politicizing conversations, make asks directly
and politely
• Be sure to follow up and close the loop
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8. Anecdote vs. Fact
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“There are lies,
damned lies, and
statistics.”
• Stories are powerful
– (e.g., Shep Glazer in 1971)
• However, policy needs to be
evidentiary
• The trick is to select stories that
underpin what the evidence tells us
– Primary care controls cost/promotes
quality
– Social determinants drive health
inequality
– Access issues lead to poor outcomes
for our patients

9. Follow Through
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• Expresses commitment and professionalism
• Any format will do, however traditional norms still
play a role (letters over calls, calls over emails,
emails over tweets)
• Can create a door to pass through in future for
other asks

10. State Level Advocacy
• Many state chapters run lobby days
• Often issues sync with national issues
• Chance to influence legislation
• Barriers to regular communication are often
lessened
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11. Have a Great Time!
• Questions?
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