[An instruction manual for reforming Italian general practice.]

General practice occupies a fundamental and irreplaceable role within the Italian National Health System. Despite this, its structural conditions are currently precarious and not up to date. In order to safeguard its existence, a radical reform is therefore necessary distancing itself from the old and obsolete Italian concept of primary care. First of all, it is now mandatory to establish a university specialization in general practice to improve the medical training of future general practitioners. At the same time, the growth of an organized clinical research system in the primary care setting must be encouraged. Together with these measures, an extensive modernization of the organizational system of general practice must be implemented with the overcoming of the current obstacles that largely limit its clinical-assistance possibilities. The creation of primary care centers and the strengthening of the telemedicine system are two essential points of this reform. We deeply trust that future generations of general practitioners will be the promoters of these necessary changes.