Genetic epidemiology and primary care

[摘要] As a retired dinosaur and occasional locum, I read with great interest Blair Smith's paper.1 I would certainly welcome improvement of my own genetic literacy, but I fear that with the present trend towards larger and more specialised general practice the doctor–patient relationships in primary care are being eroded at an alarming rate. The average patient repeatedly complains that ‘I never seem to see my own doctor’ and this situation will only deteriorate further with the ideas of dual registration and encroachment from the private sector. As he says, this is all very much in the future at the present time, so perhaps there will still be time to reverse some of the present trends and possibly even have the national database as a functional entity, but not, I think until a long time after I have dropped off my branch.

[学科分类] 卫生学