SAN ANTONIO (June 23, 2010) — Carlos Roberto Jaén, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of family and community medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the American Board of Family Medicine, the second-largest medical specialty board in the United States.
Dr. Jaén is the Dr. John M. Smith Jr. Endowed Professor in the Health Science Center School of Medicine. A faculty physician with UT Medicine San Antonio, the multispecialty medical practice of the School of Medicine, he has been selected to Best Doctors in America every year since 2002. He will serve on the board’s information and technology committee and the research and development committee.
“I am excited by the opportunity to participate in shaping the future of our specialty, particularly as the health care reform law comes into place with a central role for family medicine and primary care,” Dr. Jaén said.
The appointment raises further the visibility of the Health Science Center’s family medicine department and enhances its ability to collaborate with other academic departments in terms of large practice-based research opportunities, he noted.
In a set of articles published June 8 in Annals of Family Medicine, Dr. Jaén and colleagues unveiled a series of key lessons for implementing a “patient-centered medical home.” This model would enable a doctor’s office to offer team-based care, better use of technology and a more personal experience for the patient to ultimately improve health.
“My participation in the Board of Directors will allow me to influence the essential skills and training that are needed for the implementation of the patient-centered medical home,” Dr. Jaén said. “Our specialty requires recertification every seven to 10 years and thus allows the opportunity to promote the leadership and management skills needed. Specifically the board will be able to test what specific approaches result in changes in practice.”
His involvement with the information and technology committee will focus on billing, documentation and other systems that must, he said, evolve so that they are focused on management of the population of patients in the practice and on promotion of patient safety.
Dr. Jaén is co-director of the Center for Research in Family Medicine and Primary Care, is a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Medicine, and is an adjunct professor at The University of Texas School of Public Health.
UT Medicine San Antonio is the clinical practice of the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. With more than 700 doctors – all faculty from the School of Medicine – UT Medicine is the largest medical practice in Central and South Texas, with expertise in more than 60 different branches of medicine. Primary care doctors and specialists see patients in private practice at UT Medicine’s clinical home, the Medical Arts & Research Center (MARC), located in the South Texas Medical Center at 8300 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio 78229. Most major health plans are accepted, and there are clinics and physicians at several local and regional hospitals, including CHRISTUS Santa Rosa, University Hospital and Baptist Medical Center. Call (210) 450-9000 to schedule an appointment, or visit the Web site at www.UTMedicine.org for a complete listing of clinics and phone numbers.