Advancing the Health and Well-being of Individuals and Families
The Department of Family Medicine serves as a foundational core for primary care education, comprehensive patient care delivery and community-based research at Dell Medical School. By bridging academic medicine with the local and statewide community, the department is dedicated to training the next generation of primary care physicians, advancing whole-person health and expanding access to high-quality, person-centered care across Central Texas.
Our approach emphasizes continuity of care, addressing all barriers to health and translating innovative research into daily clinical practice. Through transdisciplinary collaboration across Dell Med and The University of Texas at Austin, the Department of Family Medicine strives to build a sustainable health system where all patients, families and communities are active, empowered partners in their health journey.
Department teams work with a range of providers, community organizations and others to improve health through increasing access to primary care, enhancing public health activities, improving health services and strengthening community-based health research in Austin and Central Texas.
Areas of Focus
Our education mission is to deliver outstanding undergraduate and graduate medical education in family medicine by incorporating evolving technologies, state-of-the-art educational approaches and leadership development. Additionally, the department trains future primary care physicians, preparing them to lead in ambulatory, hospital and community settings.
The department works in partnership with multiple community health organizations to provide comprehensive, high‑quality, accessible and coordinated care across the lifespan to improve the health of all Central Texans. The department’s focus is to provide inclusive health care tailored to patient needs that emphasizes prevention and health promotion, and reduces chronic disease burden. By optimizing the use of technology and innovation, the aim is to enhance quality, efficiency and patient outcomes, and to support clinician and team well‑being.
The department’s research focuses on generating actionable and relevant community-centered research and scholarship that improves health outcomes.
The department focuses on pioneering care delivery models and developing the evidence base for primary care. The department is actively developing, testing and translating evidence-based interventions into routine medical practice, prioritizing preventive care, chronic disease management and whole-person health over single disease approaches.
Education
The Department of Family Medicine equips learners with the skills, empathy and system understanding to excel as primary care specialists and health leaders.
- The Department of Family Medicine runs a Primary Care Family and Community Medicine Clerkship, during which each medical student spends two years of training in a continuity practice at a community clinic. The department partners with multiple community partners and practices throughout Central Texas to place students. Students have the opportunity to engage with community organizations that help people overcome barriers and obstacles to health and also have the chance to participate in community-engaged research projects.
- Departmental faculty contribute to medical student education throughout the four-year curriculum.
- Family Medicine Residency — A three-year program offering a balance of ambulatory care and hospital training. The program offers tailored rotations and electives in full-spectrum family care, acute and chronic disease management, women’s health, preventive medicine, behavioral health and interprofessional clinical team training.
- Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship — A specialized post-residency training program providing expert, multidisciplinary care for patients with sports-related injuries and orthopedic conditions.
- Programs include a Grand Rounds series designed to cultivate educational leaders, curriculum innovators and clinical mentors who advocate for primary care excellence across the academic health system.
Patient Care
The Department of Family Medicine team delivers high-quality, compassionate, full-spectrum primary care that puts patients and families at the center of every care decision at locations throughout Central Texas. Key sites include: UT Health Austin, Community Care Southeast Health and Wellness Center, Dell Seton Medical Center, Dell Children’s Medical Center and Central Health.
Research
The Department of Family Medicine focuses on applied research within clinical and community settings that improves health outcomes and influences clinical practice and health policy. Faculty develop collaborative interdisciplinary research projects addressing conditions and outcomes that matter, especially among vulnerable individuals.
- The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program focuses on transdisciplinary research integrating expertise in medicine, data science, social work, geographical approaches and public health. It involves the development and testing of multilevel health system and community-based interventions to reduce cancer burden in vulnerable populations, and to produce actionable data to influence clinical practice and policy. Areas of focus include prevention and early detection of colorectal, cervical and breast cancer, and addressing risk factors for cancer such as HPV, alcohol and tobacco.
- The Burgermaster Lab conducts research on diet-related chronic diseases, integrating behavioral science, data science and digital health tools to improve health, especially among vulnerable individuals.
- Factor Health leads research that involves developing and testing programs outside the health system that impact health outcomes and can be scaled for population-level impact.