[The medical specialty in Community Medicine]

The A. describes synthetically the evolution of the job profiles of the GP in Italy as a consequence of the introduction of the NHS in 1978 and of the development of a new Primary Health Care (PHC) in the Health Districts of the Local Health Units. According to the national and regional Health Regulations the GP should adopt the holistic approach in the treatment of the patients with the involvement of the community for the PHC and with the integration of the formal and informal, private and public, social services. The efforts to change the traditional profile of the GP both for the global, holistic, approach to the patients and for the community approach to the health needs and for the health promotion of the individuals and of the community raised several continuing and basic educational problems. They showed the opportunity to introduce in Italy the accademic discipline Community Medicine and the post-graduated School of Community Medicine as a clinical specialization. The role and the functions of the specialist in Community Medicine are specifically connected with the development of the PHC.