Summary
The “Medical generalism: why expertise in whole person medicine matters” report represents the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP)’s response to the October 2011 report produced by the Independent Commission on Generalism.
This report shows how medical generalists provide care focused on individual wellbeing and which delivers wide benefits. It proposes that GPs should be given the support to protect and enhance their general role, involving longer training, more time with patients, better access to diagnostics and better communication with specialists. The RCGP identifies ten priority areas:
- Effective use of patient feedback.
- Policy on out of hours care.
- Development of generalist models of care for complex and chronic conditions in the community.
- Improving communication between GPs and specialists.
- Better training for GPs.
- Enhancing training in paediatric care, learning disabilities, mental health, palliative and end of life care.
- GP-led commissioning.
- Research into multiple morbidities and early, accurate diagnosis in primary care.
- Information technology use, data sharing and inter-agency e-communications.
- Nursing home care.
Reference
Medical generalism: why expertise in whole person medicine matters. London: Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), June 2012. 63p.
