About the Department of Family Medicine

At the UPMC Department of Family Medicine, we are committed to providing excellent primary care to people of all ages.

In addition to caring for patients in our offices and hospitals, we help them navigate the complex health care system. We work with our patients to coordinate the care they receive from different members of the UPMC care team in different locations across the system.

What is Family Medicine?

The American Academy of Family Physicians defines family medicine as the medical specialty that:

• Provides continuing, comprehensive health care for the individual in the context of the family.
• Integrates the biological, clinical, and behavioral sciences.
• Encompasses all ages, both sexes, each organ system, and every disease entity.

Mission and Vision of the UPMC Department of Family Medicine

Our mission is three-fold:

1. Provide high quality patient care.
2. Support research initiatives.
3. Equip future physicians with the competencies required for family-oriented patient care and to nurture their leadership characteristics.

To accomplish this mission, the Department:

• Delivers care at seven family health centers and practices throughout Pittsburgh and its surrounding neighborhoods, as well as at several local hospitals.
• Maintains a commitment to improving the care that patients receive through community-based health research and education of new primary care physicians.
• Also leads family medicine undergraduate and graduate courses and programs.

Our vision at the UPMC Department of Family Medicine:

• We will be recognized regionally, nationally, and internationally as a model for excellence in education, research, and clinical care.

Family Medicine Residencies and Fellowships

Three family medicine residencies — at UPMC McKeesport, UPMC Shadyside, and UPMC St. Margaret — provide invaluable community-based experience with the support of the University of Pittsburgh, a major academic research institution.

Eighty-four residents and twelve fellows practice within these settings. They receive support from thirteen University of Pittsburgh faculty and thirty-six UPMC faculty.​