About Us
What is Preventive Medicine?
Preventive Medicine is the specialty of medical practice that focuses on the health of individuals, communities, and defined populations. Its goal is to protect, promote, and maintain health and well-being and to prevent disease, disability, and death. Preventive medicine specialists have core competencies in biostatistics, epidemiology, occupational and environmental medicine, planning and evaluation of health services, management of healthcare organizations, research into causes of disease and injury in population groups, and the practice of prevention in clinical medicine. They apply knowledge and skills gained from the medical, social, economic, and behavioral sciences.
Mission
ABPM’s mission is to
- Certify physicians practicing in a Specialty and/or Subspecialty and to extend and support development of those Specialties and Subspecialties; and
- Extend, encourage, and enhance the study and the standards of practice, and advance the cause of preventive medicine and the ABPM.
Purposes of the Board
- To establish and maintain high standards in preventive medicine including the Specialty and Subspecialty areas of Aerospace Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, Addiction Medicine, Clinical Informatics, Medical Toxicology and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine, and other related medical specialty areas;
- To grant and issue Certificates or other recognition of knowledge and skills in preventive medicine and its Specialty and Subspecialty areas and other related medical specialties and to suspend or revoke the same when appropriate;
- To develop and administer examinations and to otherwise evaluate physicians applying for Certification and Continuing Certification in preventive medicine, its Specialty and Subspecialty areas and other related medical specialty areas;
- To enhance, encourage and engage in programs and practices related to the improvement of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion of all ABPM Diplomates.
Specialties
Preventive medicine has three specialty areas with common core knowledge, skills, and
competencies that emphasize different populations, environments, and practice settings.
Aerospace Medicine
Aerospace medicine focuses on the clinical care, research, and operational support of the health, safety, and performance of crew members and passengers of air and space vehicles, together with the support personnel who assist operation of such vehicles.
Occupational &
Environmental Medicine
Occupational and Environmental Medicine focuses on the health of workers, including the ability to perform work; the physical, chemical, biological, and social environments of the workplace; and the health outcomes of environmental exposures.
Public Health & General
Preventive Medicine
Public health and general preventive medicine focuses on promoting health, preventing disease, and managing the health of communities and defined populations.
Subspecialties
Preventive medicine also encompasses five subspecialty areas, including:
Addiction Medicine
Addiction Medicine is concerned with the prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery of persons with the disease of addiction, of those with substance-related health conditions, and of people who show unhealthy use of substances including nicotine, alcohol, prescription medications and other licit and illicit drugs.
Clinical Informatics
Physicians who practice Clinical Informatics collaborate with other health care and information technology professionals to analyze, design, implement and evaluate information and communication systems that enhance individual and population health outcomes, improve patient care, and strengthen the clinician-patient relationship.
Health Care Administration, Leadership, & Management
Health Care Administration, Leadership, and Management (HALM) represents a body of knowledge and skills that address the system-based needs of health care environments.
Medical Toxicology
Medical toxicologists are physicians who specialize in the prevention, evaluation, treatment, and monitoring of injury and illness from exposures to drugs and chemicals, as well as biological and radiological agents.
Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine
The subspecialty of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine is a discipline that deals with the prevention of injury and illness due to exposure to environments in which the ambient pressure is increased, such as in diving or hyperbaric chamber exposure, and the therapeutic use of high environmental pressure and the delivery of oxygen under high pressure to treat disease.