IFM | Solving practice challenges with AI
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of the Inside Family Medicine podcast, recorded at FMX, AAFP Vice President of Practice Advancement Karen Johnson talks with family physician Nipa Shah, MD, FAAFP, and internal medicine physician Sudeep Bansal, MD, about how artificial intelligence is moving from an emerging technology to a practical tool physicians can use to solve everyday problems in primary care. Shah and Bansal discuss how their views of AI have evolved as the technology has rapidly advanced. Shah points to agentic AI – systems capable of performing tasks rather than simply generating...
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IFM | For rural doctors, impactful work must be supported
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of the Inside Family Medicine podcast, host Rebecca Fuller Beeler talks with Kimberly Becher, MD, a West Virginia family physician and chair of the AAFP’s new Rural Health Advisory Committee, about the challenges, opportunities and future of practicing family medicine in rural communities. Becher shares what drew her to family medicine and why she has spent her career practicing in a community without a hospital. She discusses the broad scope and flexibility of rural practice, where physicians may care for patients across generations while navigating limited access...
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FFFM | A Seat at the Table: Affordability Working Group on Healthcare
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of Fighting for Family Medicine, AAFP Vice President of Government Relations David Tully recaps the Academy’s October advocacy efforts before talking with Maryland family physician Amar Duggirala, MD, about his experience representing family medicine at a congressional roundtable focused on health care affordability. Tully begins with updates from across the AAFP’s advocacy work, including the installation of Kisha Davis, MD, MPH, FAAFP, as AAFP president and her participation in a federal discussion on preventing congenital syphilis. He also highlights AAFP...
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IFM | Whole Health: Medicine’s Course Correction
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of Inside Family Medicine, Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH, and Beth Polk, MD, FAAFP join us to discuss whole health in primary care. Dr. Bazemore distinguishes whole health (physical, behavioral, spiritual and socioeconomic well-being across individuals, families and communities) from whole health care (how care is organized), emphasizing a shift from “What’s the matter with you?” to “What matters to you?” Dr. Polk connects whole health to lifestyle medicine’s pillars and stresses addressing drivers of outcomes beyond the exam room, including social needs. They cite...
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CME | Brave new world AI & Family Medicine
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of CME On the Go, host Tamaan Osbourne-Roberts, MD, talks with family physician Jennifer Bryan, MD, FAAFP, about the rapidly expanding role of artificial intelligence in medicine and what family physicians need to know to use these tools safely, effectively and responsibly. Jennifer begins by breaking down the different forms of AI physicians may encounter, from large language models and predictive tools to generative and agentic AI. She explains how these technologies are already embedded in electronic health records, clinical decision support, remote monitoring, and...
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IFM | Plot twist: Embracing the unexpected in family medicine careers
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of the Inside Family Medicine podcast, host Adam Bradley talks with Victoria Boggiano, MD, MPH, and Connie Leeper, MD, MPH, about the unexpected turns that can shape a career in family medicine. Boggiano and Leeper share the experiences that led them to the specialty and the career “plot twists” that followed. Boggiano reflects on an early interest in health policy, anthropology and global health before finding her way to clinical medicine, public health and academic family medicine. Leeper discusses entering medicine with an interest in sports medicine and global...
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CME | When colleagues are struggling: a conversation on physician suicide prevention
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of CME On the Go, family physicians Janet West, MD, and Michelle Chestovich, MD, share deeply personal experiences with suicide and explore why physicians can struggle to recognize and address mental health challenges in themselves and their colleagues. Through their stories, they examine the culture of medicine, the stigma surrounding mental health treatment, and the importance of creating environments where asking for help is viewed as a strength rather than a weakness. Janet shares her experience surviving a suicide attempt in 2023 and reflects on how...
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FFFM | State and Local Advocacy at Work
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of Fighting for Family Medicine, AAFP Vice President of Government Relations David Tully recaps the Academy’s September advocacy efforts before sitting down with Julie Harrison, Senior Manager of State Affairs and Member Advocacy, to examine some of the biggest policy trends and state-level wins for family medicine during the 2026 legislative sessions. Tully highlights the AAFP’s advocacy efforts during the months of August and September, including immunizations, Medicare physician payment, prior authorization, rural obstetric care and the primary care workforce....
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IFM | New Oral Medication to Prevent COVID-19 After Exposure
Inside Family Medicine
In this special sponsored episode of the Inside Family Medicine podcast, brought to you by Shionogi, host Darren Sextro talks with family physician Ben Silverberg, MD, about ensitrelvir, a newly approved oral medication for COVID-19 post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Dr. Silverberg explains how the medication works to inhibit viral replication and discusses findings from the Phase III SCORPIO-PEP trial, which evaluated ensitrelvir among household contacts of people with confirmed COVID-19. The conversation highlights the importance of starting post-exposure prophylaxis quickly, along...
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IFM | How we create vaccine guidance
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of the Inside Family Medicine podcast, host Michael Monroe talks with Margot Savoy, MD, MPH, FAAFP, AAFP chief medical officer and senior vice president for education, inclusiveness and physician well-being, and Danielle Carter, MD, FAAFP, about how the Academy develops evidence-based immunization recommendations in a changing vaccine policy environment. They explain how the AAFP historically worked alongside the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and other medical organizations to review vaccine evidence and translate it into practical...
info_outlineIn this episode of the Inside Family Medicine podcast, recorded at FMX, AAFP Vice President of Practice Advancement Karen Johnson talks with family physician Nipa Shah, MD, FAAFP, and internal medicine physician Sudeep Bansal, MD, about how artificial intelligence is moving from an emerging technology to a practical tool physicians can use to solve everyday problems in primary care.
Shah and Bansal discuss how their views of AI have evolved as the technology has rapidly advanced. Shah points to agentic AI – systems capable of performing tasks rather than simply generating information – as an important turning point. Bansal shares how experimenting with relatively small use cases in his own practice changed his perspective from viewing AI as a novelty to seeing it as a tool that can reduce repetitive work and give physicians more time with patients.
The conversation explores some of AI’s biggest opportunities and challenges in primary care. Shah describes the potential to use large amounts of health data to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment, while Bansal focuses on eliminating the many small administrative burdens that make primary care feel like “death by a thousand cuts.” They also examine a major obstacle: health information remains fragmented across EHRs, health systems and other data sources. AI may help physicians turn the information they do have into actionable summaries at the point of care, but better interoperability remains essential.
The guests then reflect on the AAFP’s first FMX AI Hackathon, where family physicians worked in teams to identify real problems from their practices and rapidly prototype potential solutions. Shah’s team developed an AI-supported tool for onboarding, evaluating and providing feedback to medical assistants, while other participants tackled challenges such as helping patients understand what to do after a hospital discharge. Bansal encourages physicians to start with a problem they understand well, use AI to brainstorm possible solutions and remember that clinicians remain the domain experts who must guide the technology.
The episode closes with practical advice for physicians beginning to use AI. Shah suggests expanding the traditional “build versus buy” decision to consider whether to build, buy, borrow or bot a solution. Bansal encourages physicians to experiment with AI on problems that consume their time, while Shah emphasizes transparency about how much AI contributed to a piece of work. Both stress that AI should strengthen rather than undermine the human relationships at the center of family medicine — and that family physicians need a meaningful role in determining how these technologies are developed and implemented.
References and resources
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Artificial Intelligence in Family Medicine
AI in Family Medicine
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Getting the right AI tools for your practice: Questions to ask
https://www.aafp.org/practice-operations/ai-in-family-medicine/choosing-the-best-ai-health-care-tools
Libsyn chapter markers
00:00 AI in primary care and meet the guests
01:35 Sudeep Bansal’s path from medicine to health technology
03:39 Nipa Shah on AI as a tool for solving problems
06:59 Why agentic AI is changing primary care
10:09 The biggest opportunities for AI in family medicine
14:28 Data silos, interoperability and actionable information
19:09 Inside the FMX AI Hackathon
23:37 How physicians can turn pain points into AI solutions
25:41 From “build versus buy” to build, buy, borrow or bot
27:37 Using AI responsibly while preserving trust and human connection