Atlanta’s family medicine market supports over 900 board-certified family practice physicians across the metro area, reflecting a large and growing population that has outpaced the supply of primary care providers in many neighborhoods, particularly in rapidly developing suburban communities in Forsyth, Cherokee, and Paulding counties. Family medicine in Atlanta spans independent private practices, direct primary care membership models, concierge practices, and large health system-employed practices under Piedmont, Emory, Northside, and Wellstar, giving patients genuine choice in care model and physician relationship style. The city’s diverse population has also supported the growth of multilingual family practices serving communities where Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, and other languages are the primary communication mode, improving access to preventive care for immigrant communities that face disproportionate chronic disease burden. Atlanta’s position as a regional economic hub also drives demand from a highly mobile professional population that changes primary care relationships frequently, creating a market where practices that efficiently onboard new patients and offer flexible access through telehealth hold a competitive advantage.
When selecting a family practice physician in Atlanta, board certification in Family Medicine through the American Board of Family Medicine is the relevant credential, verifiable through the ABFM’s online directory. The core questions to ask are about new patient availability and wait times, same-day sick visit access, the practice’s patient panel size per physician, and whether the physician communicates primarily through an electronic patient portal or requires phone calls for every interaction. Look for practices where the physician maintains continuity with patients across visits rather than using a rotating provider model. Red flags include practices where you rarely see the same physician twice despite scheduling with a specific doctor, offices with wait times regularly exceeding 90 minutes beyond the appointment time, and practices that cannot provide preventive care reminders or proactive chronic disease management between visits.
Top Family Practice Physician Companies in Atlanta
1. Family Practice Center, PC
Address: 993 Johnson Ferry Road NE, Building F, Suite F210, Atlanta, GA 30342
Phone: (404) 256-1727
Website: https://www.familypracticecenterpc.com
Hours: Monday–Friday 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturday 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Services:
- Comprehensive family medicine for all ages
- Annual physical examinations and preventive care
- Women’s health services including gynecological care
- Dermatological care within family medicine
- Sports medicine
- Chronic disease management
- Early disease detection screening
- In-house diagnostics including X-ray, bloodwork, ultrasound, and echocardiogram
- Telehealth consultations
About: Family Practice Center, PC has served Atlanta families for over 25 years under the leadership of founder and CEO Dr. James Wheeler, growing into one of the highest-rated primary care practices in the Southeast through consistent delivery of patient-centered comprehensive family medicine. The practice’s unusual service breadth extends beyond standard family medicine into dermatology, sports medicine, and in-house diagnostic services including ultrasound and echocardiogram, reducing the number of outside referrals patients need for common diagnostic needs. Saturday morning hours from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM are an important access differentiator in a market where most family practices are closed on weekends, serving working patients who cannot easily take weekday time off for appointments. Female nurse practitioner providers are available for women who prefer a female clinician, with telehealth extending access for patients with scheduling or transportation constraints.
2. Internal Medicine Specialists of Atlanta, PC
Address: 1800 Howell Mill Road, Suite 175, Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: (404) 607-1777
Website: https://www.thedoctorsarein.com
Hours: Monday–Friday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Services:
- Adult internal medicine and primary care
- Preventive care and annual wellness exams
- Chronic disease management
- Personalized individualized care plans
- Coordination with specialists
About: Internal Medicine Specialists of Atlanta, PC is an independent private practice on Howell Mill Road committed to providing personalized quality healthcare for adult patients in a comfortable private practice environment that contrasts with the larger health system practice settings where many Atlanta internists work. The practice’s physician team includes board-certified internists Dr. Robert Malamis, Dr. Wesley Hoke, Dr. Emily Poppens, and Dr. Caitlin Anderson, along with clinical physician assistant support, providing multiple physician perspectives available to established patients. The Howell Mill location serves the Atlantic Station, Westside, Midtown, and Buckhead communities within Atlanta’s urban core and is positioned conveniently for the dense professional population in these neighborhoods. As an independent practice rather than a health system employee group, the practice’s physicians maintain greater autonomy in care decisions and patient relationship management than employed physicians typically exercise.
3. Atlanta Family Physicians, PC (Wellstar Affiliated)
Address: 3424 Flat Shoals Road, Decatur, GA 30034
Phone: (770) 956-7827
Website: https://www.wellstar.org
Hours: Monday–Friday 7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Services:
- Family medicine for all ages
- Preventive care and wellness visits
- Chronic disease management
- Pediatric and adult care
- Geriatric care
- Specialist referrals within Wellstar network
About: Atlanta Family Physicians, PC operates as a Wellstar Health System-affiliated family medicine practice in Decatur, providing comprehensive family medicine for patients across the southern and eastern Atlanta metro area. Wellstar affiliation provides patients with integrated access to one of Georgia’s largest and most geographically diverse health systems, including streamlined referrals to Wellstar specialists, coordinated inpatient care at Wellstar hospitals, and shared electronic health records that reduce the documentation burden on patients managing care across multiple providers. The Flat Shoals Road location serves the Decatur, Panthersville, and south DeKalb communities, areas where family medicine access is a meaningful community health priority given the demographic characteristics of the patient population. The practice’s early morning hours starting at 7:00 AM accommodate working patients who need appointments before the standard 9:00 AM opening of most medical offices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between a family practice physician and an internist in Atlanta?
A: A family practice physician completed a three-year family medicine residency training them to care for patients of all ages from newborns through elderly adults, covering pediatrics, adult medicine, women’s health, and geriatrics within a single practice. An internist completed a three-year internal medicine residency focused exclusively on adults, with deeper training in managing complex multi-system chronic diseases in adult and elderly patients. In Atlanta, the practical choice between the two depends on whether you have children you would like cared for by the same physician, and on how complex your personal medical conditions are. For most adults without significant chronic disease complexity, a family practice physician provides equivalent preventive and acute care to an internist, while adults with multiple serious chronic conditions may benefit from the internist’s additional depth in adult complex disease management.
Q: What preventive services should my family practice physician provide at an annual visit in Atlanta?
A: A comprehensive annual wellness visit with a board-certified family practice physician in Atlanta should include a review of your medication list and vaccination status, blood pressure measurement, body mass index calculation, and age-appropriate cancer screenings including colorectal cancer screening starting at age 45, mammography for women starting at 40 to 50 depending on risk, and cervical cancer screening per current Pap smear guidelines. For patients with risk factors, fasting cholesterol and blood glucose should be checked, and tobacco, alcohol, and mental health screening should be incorporated using validated tools. The Affordable Care Act requires most insurance plans to cover preventive services recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force at no cost-sharing during annual wellness visits, so most of these screenings should have no out-of-pocket cost when billed as preventive.
Q: How do I switch family practice physicians in Atlanta?
A: Switching family practice physicians in Atlanta requires requesting your complete medical records from your current provider, which Georgia law requires practices to provide within a reasonable timeframe and typically for a nominal copying fee. Contact the new practice first to verify they are accepting new patients with your insurance, and schedule a new patient visit which typically runs longer than a follow-up appointment to allow the physician to review your history. Inform your current practice that you are transferring care so they can forward records upon request from your new provider, and update your pharmacy with the new physician’s contact information. The transition is logistically straightforward in Atlanta’s electronic health record environment but plan on a 30 to 60 day lead time from initiating the transfer to your first appointment at the new practice.
Conclusion
Atlanta’s family medicine market provides patients with meaningful choices across practice models, neighborhoods, and physician styles for comprehensive primary care. Family Practice Center, PC delivers over 25 years of established patient-centered family medicine with Saturday hours and in-house diagnostics from Sandy Springs. Internal Medicine Specialists of Atlanta brings an independent private practice model to Howell Mill Road with a board-certified physician team focused on adult internal medicine. Atlanta Family Physicians, PC serves the Decatur community through the Wellstar network with early morning hours and full family medicine coverage across age groups. Contact each practice to confirm new patient availability, insurance acceptance, and scheduling options that match your family’s needs.