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Will promoting general practitioners with special interests threaten access to primary care?

Moyez Jiwa, Hooi C Ee and Justin J Beilby
Med J Aust 2007; 187 (2): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01142.x
Published online: 16 July 2007

Increasing the number of “special interest” GPs may exacerbate the current GP shortage

According to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP):


  • 1 WA Centre for Cancer and Palliative Care, Curtin University, Perth, WA.
  • 2 Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, WA.
  • 3 Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA.


Correspondence: m.jiwa@curtin.edu.au

  • 1. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Definition of general practice and general practitioner. http://www.racgp.org.au/whatisgeneralpractice (accessed May 2007).
  • 2. Starfield B, Shi L, Macinko J. Contribution of primary care to health systems and health. Milbank Q 2005; 83: 457-502.
  • 3. Brennan ME, Spillane AJ. The breast physician: an example of specialisation in general practice. Med J Aust 2007; 187: 111-114.
  • 4. Jones R, Bartholomew J. General practitioners with special clinical interests: a cross-sectional survey. Br J Gen Pract 2002; 52: 833-834.
  • 5. Löfmark R, Mortier F, Nilstun T, et al; EURELD Consortium. Palliative care training: a survey of physicians in Australia and Europe. J Palliat Care 2006; 22: 105-110.
  • 6. Pringle M. General practitioners with special interests. London: Royal College of General Practitioners and Royal College of Physicians of London, 2001.
  • 7. Donohoe MT, Kravitz RL, Wheeler DB, et al. Reasons for outpatient referrals from generalists to specialists. J Gen Intern Med 1999; 14: 281-286.
  • 8. O’Donnell CA. Variation in GP referral rates: what can we learn from the literature? Fam Pract 2000; 17: 462-471.
  • 9. Nocon A, Leese B. The role of UK general practitioners with special clinical interests: implications for policy and service delivery. Br J Gen Pract 2004; 54(498): 50-56.
  • 10. Moffat MA, Sheikh A, Price D, et al. Can a GP be a generalist and a specialist? Stakeholders views on a respiratory general practitioner with a special interest service in the UK. BMC Health Serv Res 2006; 6: 62.
  • 11. Proudfoot J, Infante F, Holton C, et al. Organisational capacity and chronic disease care: an Australian general practice perspective. Aust Fam Physician 2007; 36: 286-288.

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