Primary care since John Fry; a research odyssey: the Royal Society of Medicine John Fry Prize winner

[摘要] John Fry was born 100 years ago in 1922. He started as a single-handed GP in Beckenham in 1947 and retired from the same practice 43 years later in 1991. His contribution to general practice was immense. Long before computers, (1974), Fry compiled his Common Diseases: Their Nature Incidence and Care . For many decades it was regarded as the single most important source of data on general practice. He was an evidence-based practitioner long before ‘evidence-based practice’ was invented.When, as one of the judges for this year’s Royal Society of Medicine John Fry Prize, I was asked to set a title for the John Fry Prize essay, I wanted the applicants to actually look at and analyse John Fry’s pioneering research. The title chosen was ‘When John Fry started his pioneering research, he was a single-handed GP. Today general practice is delivered by the primary care team comprising a broad group of healthcare professionals. Giving referenced examples show how this has influenced current research in general practice.’ As evidenced by this winning entry below, I think we succeeded.(Joseph Spitzer, council member, section of general practice with primary care, Royal Society of Medicine)JOHN FRY Today, if one was to ask who John Fry was, many would reply with ‘John who?’ Prior to current research methods in primary care, there were individual GPs who studied their patients’ problems thoroughly and then extrapolated relevant information for practice-based research. Among these GPs were the notable individuals John Fry, William Pickles, and Curtis Gordon Hames.For some, John Fry was considered one of the doyens of general practice. He was an evidence-based practitioner who has played one of the most prolific roles in general practice to date. He was one of the founding members of the College of General Practitioners, a member of various committees on the Medical Research Council, and a consultant to the World Health Organization and the British Army. But, most importantly, John Fry had authored and co-authored over 60 books and was a well-known publisher for some of the most prestigious journals such as the British Medical Journal, Lancet, and many others.Some of his published research includes the ‘Natural history of hypertension: a case for selective non-treatment’. John Fry demonstrated how research could be produced from just being a GP by observing, studying, and analysing each patient’s problems as they came through the door.

[学科分类] 卫生学