General Practitioner

Every person should have a general practitioner.

There is a need for the continuing role of general practitioners specialising as generalists.

A GP is an appropriately qualified and registered medical professional, with knowledge and skills to provide personal, family, whanau, and community orientated comprehensive general practice care that:

• Continues over time

• Is anticipatory as well as responsive, and

• Is enhanced rather than limited by the age, sex, race religion or social circumstances of patients, nor by their physical or mental states.

The quality of the doctor-patient relationship is critical to the quality of general practice health care delivery.

Funding systems, including contracting, need to foster patient-centred care.