Dr. Karen Smith, MD
Not yet claimedFamily medicine doctor · Physician (MD)
Raeford, NC
Dr. Karen Smith is a family physician in solo community practice in Raeford, North Carolina. She was named AAFP Family Physician of the Year in 2017.
About Dr. Karen Smith, MD
Updated Sep 20, 2026 · next review Dec 19, 2026Dr. Karen L. Smith is a family medicine doctor in Raeford, North Carolina. She earned a biology degree at Duke University and her medical degree in 1989 from Hahnemann University School of Medicine (now Drexel University College of Medicine), then completed a family medicine residency through Southern Regional AHEC and Duke University Hospital from 1989 to 1992. She is listed as board certified in family medicine and licensed in North Carolina and Maryland (https://www.doximity.com/pub/karen-smith-md-0c5d2fdc).
She has practiced since 1992 and has run her own solo practice, Karen L. Smith, MD, PA, in Raeford since 2003, serving Hoke County (https://compassioninactionconference.org/speakers/karen-smith-md-faafp/). The practice includes nurse practitioner staffing (https://www.healthgrades.com/group-directory/nc-north-carolina/raeford/karen-l-smith-md-pa-x7xm3l) and lists a hospital affiliation with FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital (https://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-karen-smith-yk7y8).
She is known nationally in family medicine. The American Academy of Family Physicians named her its 2017 National Family Physician of the Year, an honor given to one U.S. family physician each year (https://ncmedsoc.org/karen-smith-md-named-2017-national-family-physician-of-the-year/). She was North Carolina Family Physician of the Year in 2016 (https://www.journalofhealthdesign.com/JHD/person/view/263) and serves on the AAFP Board of Directors (https://www.aafp.org/about/meet-our-leadership/board.html). She has also been interviewed by NC Medicaid about adopting electronic health records in her practice (https://medicaid.ncdhhs.gov/documents/providers/programs-services/ehr/drkarensmith-ehrarticle/open).
CMS Open Payments records show she received a total of $1,146.89 from industry across 60 records from 2021 to 2025, with the largest amounts from Novo Nordisk ($269.50), Pfizer ($111.67) and Exact Sciences ($104.35). Payments like these are common and legal, and these amounts are small (https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/).
- Board certified family medicine
- Listed as board certified in family medicine, with residency training through Southern Regional AHEC and Duke University Hospital from 1989 to 1992. doximity.com
- National Family Physician of the Year
- Named the American Academy of Family Physicians' 2017 National Family Physician of the Year, described as the AAFP's highest honor and given to one U.S. family physician each year. ncmedsoc.org
- North Carolina award 2016
- Named North Carolina Family Physician of the Year in 2016. journalofhealthdesign.com
- AAFP board member
- Serves as a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians Board of Directors. aafp.org
- National committee work
- An AAFP member since 1989, she has chaired the AAFP Commission on Governmental Advocacy and a Congress of Delegates Reference Committee. karensmithmd.com
- Solo rural practice since 2003
- Has practiced medicine since 1992 and has run a private solo practice in Raeford since 2003, after earlier work at a rural health center and with FirstHealth of the Carolinas. compassioninactionconference.org
- Electronic health records interview
- NC Medicaid published an interview with her about adopting an electronic health record system in her practice. medicaid.ncdhhs.gov
- Published article
- Author of "Transformation of a dinosaur: revising healthcare documentation" in the North Carolina Medical Journal, May 2005. doximity.com
- Speaks on compassionate care
- Listed as a speaker at the Annual Compassion in Action Healthcare Conference. compassioninactionconference.org
- Industry payments total
- CMS Open Payments lists $1,146.89 total across 60 records from 2021 to 2025, led by Novo Nordisk, Pfizer and Exact Sciences. Such payments are common and legal. openpaymentsdata.cms.gov
Worth knowing
- Online directory listings do not fully agree. One directory lists an affiliation with Bladen County Hospital and offices in Fayetteville and Pinehurst, while others list FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital and the Raeford office only. Patients may want to confirm current locations with the practice. vitals.com
- Her Doximity profile lists trade-press articles associated with her, including items from 2022, 2023 and July 2025, but it is not clear from the listing whether she wrote them or was quoted in them. doximity.com
Industry payments (CMS Open Payments)
Open the CMS recordFederal law requires drug and device companies to report what they pay clinicians: meals, travel, speaking, consulting, and research. Payments are common and legal; the point is that you can see them.
2021 to 2025
$1,147
60 payments
| 2021 | $308 |
| 2022 | $220 |
| 2023 | $291 |
| 2024 | $162 |
| 2025 | $167 |
Top payers
- Novo Nordisk Inc$270
- PFIZER INC.$112
- Exact Sciences Corporation$104
- Abbott Laboratories$102
- GlaxoSmithKline, LLC.$86
Payment types
- Food and Beverage$1,147
A word of caution about these numbers
A payment does not mean your doctor is compromised or acting unethically. Most of these entries are drug samples left for patients, or lunch brought in for the office staff, and the amounts are usually small. Research funding and speaking at medical meetings are also normal parts of a clinical career.
As a rough guide, a total under $15,000 a year is usually not a concern. Much larger sums, especially from one company whose product your doctor recommends to you, are worth asking about. You are allowed to ask.
Sources: karensmithmd.com · karensmithmd.com · karensmithmd.com · facebook.com · x.com · linkedin.com · journalofhealthdesign.com · health.usnews.com. Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Summary prepared with AI assistance from the public sources linked above, reviewed every three months. It is not a review, a rating, or an endorsement.
Practice location
929 West Prospect Ave.
Raeford, NC 28376
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