Publications
The Center exists in part to create original evidence and information that support and advance conversations around professionalism, value, and other health care issues.
READ about scientific publications, briefs, and reports emerging from the Center and its collaborators below.
Do Residency Signals Actually Signal Intent? Insights From the 2024 Family Medicine National Resident Survey
- Wendy Barr, MD, MPH, MSCE
Submitted on: August, 2025
In the setting of the growing need to train more family physicians and the growth of available residency slots, there is also increasing concern about the decreasing percentage of family medicine (FM) residency positions being filled in the primary Match process and the increased reliance on the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) to fill residency positions.1,2 The American Academy of Family Physicians announced in April 2025 their Residency Selection Improvement Initiative to evaluate residency selection and recruitment in FM with one of the goals being to improve the efficiency and function of the FM residency selection process.3 One of the tools identified for evaluation are the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) program signals and geographic preferences.4 These ERAS tools were created as an aid for applicants to highlight their interests and preferences and for programs to more easily identify interested applicants who are best suited for their program as part of a holistic application review. After being piloted by several other specialties, FM adopted program signaling where applicants could use up to five signals of interest to specific programs and signal geographic preferences in the 2023-2024 cycle.
A Roadmap to Reduce Medical Mistrust with Black Patients in Primary Care
Submitted on: June, 2025
It’s no secret that trust in healthcare is a major concern for Black patients. According to data compiled over the past four years through MHQP’s annual statewide Patient Experience Survey, there is a significant disparity in trust between Black and White patients in primary care in Massachusetts. Although trust is the foundation of high-quality healthcare, there is a dearth of research on this subject. Primary care holds a pivotal role in establishing trust, ultimately contributing to enhanced health outcomes and the mitigation of health disparities.
To help direct future research in this area, MHQP partnered with the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), Boston Medical Center (BMC), and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) in a project funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award (EASCS #35226).* The primary output of this effort is a Roadmap for identifying the best methods to research and reduce medical mistrust among Black patients in primary care.
Boston Globe: Americans’ trust in medicine is declining. But doctors can still turn it around.
Submitted on: May, 2025
Dr. Andrew W. Bazemore likens trust to a new drug or device. “It’s one of the most powerful tools of medicine, frankly, and if you don’t have it, no number of drugs, devices, or other interventions are going to achieve much,” says Bazemore, a primary care doctor in Virginia who is senior vice president of research and policy for the American Board of Family Medicine.
Research backs up his assertion. When patients trust their health care provider, they experience fewer symptoms, a higher quality of life, and more satisfaction with treatment, according to a review of 47 studies published in 2017.
But now, Bazemore says, trust in medicine is “under siege.”
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