Family practice is the branch of medicine concerning the total health care of the person and the family. A family practice physician can have a varied and extensive medical background, including internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and geriatrics. A family physician has the skills and knowledge to provide care and health maintenance education for all ages. This physician is trained to diagnose and treat each member of the family, no matter what the problem.

Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are emphysema, broncho-esophagology, pneumonia, osteoarthritis , bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, asthma, pectus excavatum, osteoporosis, infection, diabetes, cancer, acne, alzheimer's disease, hypertension, autism, yeast infection, strep throat, anemia, and aneurysm.

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including wart removal and mole removal.

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including bone density test, faa-flight physicial, physicial / check up, physicial, biopsy, computed axial tomography (ct or cat scan), magnetic resonance imaging (mri), electrocardiogram (ecg or ekg), ultrasound, x-ray, blood test, upper gi (barium swallow), stool test, lower gi (barium enema), electrolyte test, microbiological culture, and ph probe test.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Alaska has 404 practicing family doctors. Broken out by city, family practice doctor density in Anchorage is 180, in Barrow is 4, in Bethel is 4, in Big Lake is 1, in Chugiak is 2, in Cordova is 3, in Craig is 1, in Delta Junction is 1, in Dillingham is 6, in Eagle River is 12, in Elmendorf Afb is 4, in Fairbanks is 37, in Fbks is 1, in Fort Richardson is 1, in Fort Wainwright is 1, in Glennallen is 2, in Haines is 3, in Healy is 2, in Homer is 10, in Juneau is 28, in Kenai is 7, in Ketchikan is 7, in Klawock is 2, in Kodiak is 13, in Kotzebue is 2, in Nome is 6, in North Pole is 2, in Palmer is 8, in Petersburg is 3, in Prudhoe Bay is 1, in Seldovia is 1, in Seward is 9, in Sitka is 11, in Soldotna is 11, in Talkeetna is 1, in Tok is 1, in Valdez is 4, in Wasilla is 29, in Willow is 1, and in Wrangell is 2.

Alaska became the 49th state in 1959, and Juneau is its capital city. Comprising 586,000 square miles, the population is 663,661. Also called the Land of the Midnight Sun, Alaska’s average winter temperatures are around 20°F, so tourism is active all year round. You can study Alaska’s native culture, take a dogsled ride, enjoy skiing, snowboarding, skating, ice fishing, or a sea kayak ride. Enjoy winter carnivals and festivals. Take a cruise to view wildlife, including humpback whales, pan for gold, or fish for Alaska’s world-famous King salmon.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Alaska has a population of 663,661. Of this population, 172,628 are under the age of 18 and 43,134 are at or above the age of 65.