About Us

Established in 1997, the Boston University Department of Family Medicine was the first university-based Family Medicine department in Boston. Since its founding, the department has played a leadership role in advancing Family Medicine and primary care in the region and beyond—shaping how clinicians are trained, how care is delivered, and how medicine can better serve communities. We are committed to advancing this work with a clear vision: making health equity a reality.  

Our faculty, clinicians, researchers, learners, and staff are united by a shared belief that health care works best when it centers the whole person and the whole community. That ethos guides our clinical care, educational programs, and research, and informs our commitment to strengthening primary care as the foundation of a more equitable health system and society. 

The department’s work spans clinical care, education, research, and community partnership. We have 90 faculty and 36 residents serving across 14 medical practices across Boston spanning inpatient medicine, obstetrics, office-based substance use treatment, and sports medicine, as well as having faculty in leadership roles in medical school. Clinicians provide comprehensive primary care across the lifespan in collaboration with Boston Medical Center Health System, and alongside colleagues at community health centers across Boston through Boston HealthNet. These settings reflect the realities of patients’ lives and serve as essential environments for teaching, learning, and innovation. 

Education is central to the department’s leadership in Family Medicine. We prepare medical students, residents, and fellows for careers in primary care and for leadership roles in multidisciplinary, team-based settings responsive to diverse and multicultural communities. 

The department also advances patient-focused research that informs improved approaches to the organization and delivery of primary care, with particular emphasis on underserved communities and on integrating primary care with public health and behavioral health. 

Through close collaboration with community partners, academic institutions, and health systems, the department works to strengthen primary care locally, regionally, and internationally—expanding access, improving quality, and advancing the field of Family Medicine.