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The Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians Research Network (MAFPRN) is among the oldest established primary care practice-based research networks in the United States. The network was initially established in 1979 as the Practice Research Panel (PRP) - a group of 35 community-based family physicians concerned that researched centered on university referral populations did not generalize to primary care populations. White, Williams, and Greenberg illustrated that only one patient in a thousand was referred to the university center. Accordingly, this earlier group of Minnesota practitioners resolved to use their own practices for research. Together, they designed, performed, and published one of the earliest articles using classic primary care practice-based research methods. Members of the PRP were among the initial founders of the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Research Network (ASPN), and subsequently went on to found other PBRNs built upon similar models in other states, including Wisconsin and Michigan.
Upon receiving its first competitive grant in 1983, the PRP became a division of the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP), the largest professional medical association in Minnesota. Subsequently, the network changed its name to the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians Research Network (MAFPRN). Members established a steering committee, appointed a network director, developed criteria for the approval of proposed projects (including Human Subjects protection), and developed methods for helping new researchers turn clinical questions into suitable network research projects. The experience gathered in establishing the MAFPRN has been published.
The RN works closely with its affiliated organizations (including the MAFP, the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, and the Federation of Practice-Based Research Networks) to provide expertise and support to over 200 community-based family physician researchers in Minnesota. The mission of the MAFPRN has remained constant over its 25-plus years of existence: to promote and conduct practice-based research that will further the practice of family medicine. The research-centered mission, with an explicit focus on the rapid introduction of new research findings to improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes, is responsive to a documented national need to (a) build capacity for research in primary care and (b) facilitate the ability of primary care researchers to conduct inquiry on questions most applicable to their practice and their heterogeneous patient populations. Our commitment to research is evidenced by the performance of 23 studies over the last ten years, contribution to 14 Journal articles, and ongoing support from practicing family physicians of Minnesota.
