This document provides strategies for family physicians to maintain relationships with members of Congress and their staff. It recommends introducing yourself at the AAFP conference, following up with a thank you email, and offering to meet in their district to discuss issues related to patient care, access, costs, and local healthcare needs and facilities. When communicating, physicians should provide real patient stories, disagree graciously on issues, and focus on how policies impact constituents rather than complaining. Social media, email, and acting as a healthcare resource are also emphasized.

1. Maintaining the
Relationship with Your
Health LA
Conrad L. Flick, MD, FAAFP
AAFP Family Medicine Congressional Conference
April 18, 2016
Washington Court Hotel

2. AAFP Family Medicine Congressional
Conference
Methods & Strategies
• Know your material – your time with them might be limited or cut short
• Leave your contact info with her/him tomorrow – your card if you have it, but
write it out on a small note if you don’t
• Thank you e-mail for meeting during the FMCC
• DO NOT fail to do this!!!
• NOT paper! (not likely to get there anytime soon)

3. AAFP Family Medicine Congressional
Conference
Methods & Strategies
• In the District
• Indicate you’d like to meet – your office, their office, a neutral spot (though you can’t buy their coffee any
more than a drug rep can give you a pen)
• Offer to help with events
• Health forums
• Fund-raisers (if you are so inclined) – host, help or just attend
• Tours of facilities, including your clinic/office
• Know that they often have very short notice and are tasked with Info and Photo Ops for their Sen/Rep, so be
flexible whenever you can
• Let AAFP staff know when you have a meeting in the district, in advance, if possible

4. AAFP Family Medicine Congressional
Conference
Methods & Strategies (Continued)
• Telephone – be judicious and gracious – they are busier than interns, paid little more and have no work hour
restrictions!
• E-mail
• Traditional – update on topics you discussed during visits or health related issue in the district or state
• AAFP’s Speak Out – feel free to modify to be specific and relevant, but keep the message; this method is
phenomenally easy and far underutilized
• Social media
• Join their FB page
• comment on health-related items
• Share/Re-Post if you agree with the item
• Respond privately if you disagree, not on FB
• Follow on Twitter – retweet what you agree with and ‘heart’ sometimes if you don’t disagree

5. AAFP Family Medicine Congressional
Conference
Content
• Be real. They see a lot of phony people and can smell them out. Besides, no one wants to be in a phony relationship.
Being a family doc is about being real. USE PATIENT STORIES, SOMETHING THEY CAN REMEMBER.
• It’s okay to disagree about issues. Be gracious and civil. There’s precious little of that. Find and focus on the areas you can
agree. Don’t be afraid to continue to raise issues you disagree on, but do so graciously and with an open mind.
• Keep it focused on patient care/access/costs, physician availability for the district/state and/or economic effects on the
district/state
• Educate them, let them know about new providers, services, facilities in the district/state
• Let them know about health issues and progress and how it is affecting local patients and/or the economy
• Legislative aides are often very young, so don’t take for granted that their concept of healthcare is as nuanced as yours has
come to be. Though this is overly-simplistic, I often say their experience of healthcare may be only birth control or Strep
throat. Explain things as they affect patients without talking down to them or being long-winded. Explain issues to them
like you do to your own patients.

6. AAFP Family Medicine Congressional
Conference
Content (continued)
• Don’t complain about how hard you have it. Just don’t. Really --- don’t.
• Example: I’m burning out. These EHR’s are killing me and CMMS is a bunch of no good bureaucrats
who like nurses better than doctors. I may have to leave and then what will your constituents do?
• Find a better way to say this – Example: that administrative burden takes away from caring for patients,
their constituents
• Remember that, unless they are committee/professional staffers, they have multiple areas of
responsibility – judicial affairs, veterans’ affairs, agriculture, health, education
• This gives you a great opportunity to become a reference point for them, even on issues which aren’t
ones you care about – you can give them perspective – always give it as it will affect your patients.

7. AAFP Family Medicine Congressional
Conference
Summary
• Know your material, be a resource if needed
• Leave your contact info
• Send a thank you e-mail from this meeting
• E-mail, including AAFP’s Speak Out
• Telephone – be very judicious
• Social Media – this counts more and more for them
• In the District – meet, offer to help where you’re able and comfortable
• Be helpful and accommodating
• No complaining! Make it about patients, tell stories
• Keep focused on patient care, access, health, etc. – or on the economics for the district/state
• Give to Fammed PAC and your state PAC if you have one