Editing General practitioner (section)

{{Short description|Generalist medical doctor working in primary care}}
{{Tone|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

A '''general practitioner''' ('''GP''') is a medical professional who is a [[Consultant (medicine)|consultant]] in [[general practice]]. 
[[File:Doctors stethoscope 1.jpg|thumb|alt=GPs provide personal, family, and community-orientated comprehensive primary care that includes diagnosis, continues over time and is anticipatory as well as responsive|GPs provide personal, family, and community-orientated comprehensive primary care that includes diagnosis, continues over time and is anticipatory as well as responsive]]
GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole-person medical care, while managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk associated with the continuous care they provide. GPs work at the heart of their [[communities]], striving to provide comprehensive and equitable care for everyone, taking into account their health care needs, stage of life and background. GPs work in, connect with and lead multidisciplinary teams that care for people and their [[families]], respecting the context in which they live, aiming to ensure all of their [[physical health]] and [[mental health]] needs are met. They are trained to treat patients to levels of complexity that vary between countries. The term "primary care physician" is used in the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of a GP|url= https://www.rcgp.org.uk/about
|website=Royal College of General Practitioners| access-date=22 June 2024}}</ref> 

A core element in general practice is continuity of care,l that bridges episodes of various illnesses over time. Greater continuity with a general practitioner has been shown to reduce the need for out-of-hours services and acute hospital admittance. Continuous care by the same general practitioner has been found to reduce [[Mortality rate|mortality]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2021.0340 |first1=Hogne |last1=Sandvik |first2=Øystein |last2=Hetlevik |first3=Jesper |last3=Blinkenberg |first4=Steinar |last4=Hunskaar |title=Continuity in general practice as predictor of mortality, acute hospitalisation, and use of out-of-hours care: a registry-based observational study in Norway |journal=British Journal of General Practice |date=2022 |volume=72 |issue=715 |pages=e84–e90 |doi=10.3399/BJGP.2021.0340|pmid=34607797 |pmc=8510690 }}</ref>

The role of a GP varies between and within countries, and is often dependent on local needs and circumstances. In urban areas, their roles may focus on: 
* care of chronic/complex health conditions 
* treatment of urgent/acute non-life-threatening diseases 
* mental health care
* [[Preventive healthcare|preventive care]], including health education and immunisation. 
* [[Screening (medicine)|screening]]/early detection of disease
* [[palliative care]]
* care coordination/referral to [[allied health professions]] or specialised medical care 

In [[Rural area|rural areas]], a GP may additionally be routinely involved in pre-hospital emergency care, the delivery of babies, community hospital care and performing low-complexity surgical procedures.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.3399/bjgp10X483977 |pmid=20353673 |pmc=2845490 |title=Primary health care in Africa: Do family physicians fit in? |journal=British Journal of General Practice |volume=60 |issue=573 |pages=286–292 |year=2010 |last1=De Maeseneer |first1=Jan |last2=Flinkenflögel |first2=Maaike }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2008/April/Bill284.pdf |title=International Family Medicine Education |work=Family Medicine |date=March 2008 |access-date=20 July 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924110341/http://www.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2008/April/Bill284.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> GPs may work in larger primary care centers where they provide care within a multidisciplinary healthcare team, while in other cases GPs may work as sole practitioners or in smaller practices.

The term ''general practitioner'' or ''GP'' is common in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Australia, Canada, Singapore, South Africa, New Zealand and other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries. In these countries, the word "[[physician]]" is largely reserved for medical specialists often working in hospitals, notably in [[internal medicine]]. In North America, general practitioners are ''[[primary care physician]]s'', a role that ''[[Family medicine|family doctors]]'' and ''internists'' occupy as well, though the American Academy of General Physicians (AAGP), the [[American Academy of Family Physicians]] (AAFP), and the [[American College of Physicians]] (ACP) are distinct entities representing these three respective fields.

General practice is an [[Academy|academic]] and [[scientific]] discipline with its own educational content, [[research]], evidence base and clinical activity. Historically, the role of a GP was performed by any doctor with qualifications from a medical school working in the community. However, since the 1950s, general practice has become a medical specialty with additional training requirements.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=20468689 |pmc=2370185 |year=1971 |last1=Gandevia |first1=B. |title=A history of general practice in australia |journal=Canadian Family Physician |volume=17 |issue=10 |pages=51–61 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://personal.rhul.ac.uk/usjd/135/indexgp.htm|title=Speaking for a change: An oral history of general practice|website=personal.rhul.ac.uk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331133231/http://personal.rhul.ac.uk/usjd/135/indexgp.htm|archive-date=2013-03-31|access-date=2013-03-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/innovait/inn171 |title=From Generalism to Specialty—A Short History of General Practice |journal=Innovait: Education and Inspiration for General Practice |volume=2 |pages=2–9 |year=2009 |last1=Simon |first1=Chantal |s2cid=72934495 }}</ref><ref name="General practice">{{cite web|title=General practice|url= https://www.mcnz.org.nz/registration/scopes-of-practice/vocational-and-provisional-vocational/types-of-vocational-scope/general-practice/|website=Medical Council of New Zealand|date= 3 April 2019|access-date=22 June 2024}}</ref> The 1978 [[Alma Ata Declaration]] set the intellectual foundation of [[primary care]] and general practice.