In January 2024, the American College of Sports Medicine Team Physician Consensus Conference (TPCC) produced a new statement, “The Team Physician Consensus Statement 2024 Update” in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (MSSE) and the Current Sports Medicine Reports (CSMR) journals.
This latest TPCC consensus statement covers the qualifications, duties, and responsibilities of the team physician and provides guidelines to individuals and organizations in selecting team physicians. The delineations and guidelines outlined in the statement provide a foundation for best practices in the medical care of athletes and teams.
The Team Physical Consensus Statement was originally developed as the first in the team physician consensus series, representing an ongoing project-based alliance of the major professional associations concerned about clinical sports medicine issues.
The annual TPCC conference partners with the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine to produce a consensus statement, which is a blend of research evidence and expert consensus. The resulting documents from the conference serve as guidance and teaching tools for physicians working in the sports medicine field, regardless of geographical location or level of team or athlete.
The ACSM Executive Committee representatives Stanley A. Herring, MD, FACSM, Lance LeClere, MD, and Margot Putukian, MD, FACSM organized and gathered the distinguished panel of team physicians for the Team Physician Consensus Conference to address select medical issues in the care and treatment of athletes. The additional panel experts for the 2024 update include: Craig Bennett MD, Lori Boyajian-O’Neill DO, Danielle Carter MD, Cindy Chang MD, Carly Day MD, Molly Day MD, Kostas Economopoulos MD, Robert Franks DO, Jonathan T. Finnoff DO, Mark Halstead MD, Scott A. Magnes MD, and Jason Matuszak MD.
The statement which published online in May 2025 is freely available now in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal here and the Current Sports Medicine Reports journal here. Access to the previous TPCC statements are also free and available here.
