From cottage industry to post-industrial care? The RCGP response to the King's Fund report on the quality of care in general practice

摘要

INTRODUCTION-'Most of the care provided by general practice is good ... however, there are variations in performance and some quality gaps which need to be addressed...'With these words, the King's Fund report sets out the challenge for general practice in the 21st century. This report is a product of an independent inquiry and represents the most extensive examination of quality in general practice for many years.In his foreword, Sir Ian Kennedy describes general practice as 'not given to self-reflection and self-challenge'. Little evidence is provided for this contention. General practice has been at the forefront of the profession in promoting reflective practice as part of its specialist training programmes. General practice was an early adopter of clinical audit and significant event analysis to improve clinical care. Not for the first time, preconceived ideas about general practice have run ahead of the evidence, and such assertions should not go unchallenged!