Primary health care in the UK: policy, practice and performance

This paper (i) describes the main elements of the system of primary health care in the UK, (ii) identifies the major policy changes that have tkaen place in relation to the sector over the last 15 years, and (iii) analyses a number of key developemnts in terms of the research evidence on policy and practice. Particular attention is devoted to the reforms involving general practitioner (GP) fundholding, the total purchasing (TP) pilot sites, the primary medical services (PMS) pilot sites and newly formed primary care groups (PCGs). The paper concludes with some prelimiary commparative analysis between primary care in the UK and Japan.