Publication Guide
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is the national medical society for family physicians in the United States, founded in 1947 and headquartered in Leawood, Kansas. Alongside its advocacy and continuing-medical-education work, the AAFP runs a small but influential publishing program built around three of its own titles - American Family Physician (AFP), FPM, and FP Essentials - and co-sponsors the research journal Annals of Family Medicine.
Publishing with the AAFP is unlike submitting to a large commercial publisher. The portfolio is deliberately narrow, most AFP content is solicited rather than unsolicited, and the emphasis is on clinical review and practice-improvement writing that a working family physician can apply the same week. There are no article processing charges anywhere in the portfolio.
Which AAFP publication fits your paper?
| You want to publish... | Choose this venue |
|---|---|
| A concise, evidence-based clinical review for practicing family physicians | American Family Physician (AFP) - the AAFP's flagship peer-reviewed clinical journal. Review articles run roughly 1,500-1,800 words. Most are solicited; query the editors before writing. |
| Original primary care research, health services research, or qualitative work | Annals of Family Medicine - the fully open-access research journal the AAFP co-sponsors with five other family medicine organizations. This is the correct home for original research; AFP does not publish it. |
| Practical, non-clinical how-to advice on running a practice | FPM - covers coding, workflow, documentation, burnout, payment, and practice operations. Articles typically run 2,000-3,000 words. |
| A structured CME monograph on a single clinical topic | FP Essentials - the AAFP's self-study CME publication; contributions are commissioned. |
| A short observation, correction, or response to published work | Letters to the editor at AFP (under 400 words) or FPM. |
What the AAFP actually publishes
- American Family Physician (AFP) - established in 1969 as the successor to the journal GP (first published 1950). Editorially independent and peer reviewed, it reaches more than 180,000 family physicians and other primary care clinicians. AFP publishes clinical review articles, Photo Quiz, Curbside Consultation, POEMs, USPSTF summaries, and editorials - not original research or standalone case reports.
- FPM - founded in 1993, an editorially independent, peer-reviewed journal devoted to the business and operational side of family medicine practice.
- FP Essentials - a commissioned, monograph-style CME publication covering one clinical topic per issue.
- Annals of Family Medicine - published since 2003 as a collaborative effort of six family medicine organizations: the AAFP, the American Board of Family Medicine, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, and the North American Primary Care Research Group. It is consistently among the highest-ranked primary care research journals.
Open access and costs
There are no article processing charges in the AAFP portfolio. Access models differ by title.
| Title | Access model | Author fee |
|---|---|---|
| American Family Physician | Delayed open access - new issues are restricted to AAFP members and subscribers, with each issue made freely available after a delay (AFP's FAQ states two years) | None |
| Annals of Family Medicine | Fully open access, free to read from publication | None - the journal states it charges no publication fees |
| FPM | Member and subscriber access; selected content free online | None |
| FP Essentials | Subscription / CME product | Commissioned |
Because AFP requires authors to assign copyright to the AAFP, do not assume a CC BY licence there. Annals of Family Medicine operates under open-access licensing; confirm the current licence on the journal's information-for-authors page, and check your funder's mandate before you submit.
Peer review
- AFP uses double-anonymized (double-blind) peer review. Manuscripts that clear editorial screening are reviewed by at least one family physician and one subject-area expert.
- FPM screens editorially first; manuscripts that advance go to a panel of peer reviewers. Time from submission to publication is typically four to six months.
- Annals of Family Medicine runs conventional external peer review for original research, with methodological and statistical review where appropriate.
How to submit
- Query first for AFP. Most AFP articles are solicited. Send a proposal to the editors before drafting a full manuscript.
- Match the venue. Original research goes to Annals of Family Medicine; clinical review to AFP; practice operations to FPM.
- Follow the length and structure rules. AFP review articles are short and heavily evidence-graded; FPM articles are longer and practical.
- Submit through ScholarOne. Both AFP and FPM use ScholarOne Manuscripts. Upload a separate title page with each author's name, degree, position, and affiliation.
- Complete disclosures. All authors must complete the AAFP's disclosure of financial relationships; an AAFP account is required.
- Format citations in AMA style. AAFP titles use AMA numbered references.
Evidence grading and house style
AFP's defining feature is its evidence orientation. Recommendations carry Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT) ratings - A, B, or C - and key recommendations are summarized in a table with the supporting references. Write for a clinician reader: plain language, no unexplained abbreviations, and every clinical claim tied to a citation.
Ethics and integrity
The AAFP is a COPE member and its journals follow COPE guidance on authorship, corrections, and retractions. Authors must disclose financial relationships and conflicts of interest; AFP applies additional scrutiny to industry ties because of its CME role. AFP content is indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed, and Annals of Family Medicine is indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed and deposited in PubMed Central.
