[The role of the general practitioner in health care]

The World Health Organization is endorsing the Statement of WONCA, the World Organization of Family Doctors: "The considerations are consistent with the principles and policy of WHO." All WONCA's national member organizations have welcomed the Statement. The Statement seems to have already influenced the planning of health services in some countries and has been translated into several languages. High quality primary health care depends on the availability of well trained general practitioners as members of health care teams in the community. To this end, responsible authorities and the World Health Organization should adopt policies that will increase the number of trained physicians in general/family practice. Such policies will involve placing greater emphasis on primary medical care in medical schools, creating better opportunities for postgraduate training and research in general/family practice, and providing greater incentives for new graduates to choose a career in general practice. One of the requirements is strong departments of general practice/family medicine at all medical schools. With the aim of encouraging the training of more general practitioners/family physicians, this document outlines their role in the health care system and the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required.