family practice

family practice, field of medicine that stresses comprehensive primary health care, regardless of the age or sex of the patient, with special emphasis on the family unit.

Family practice as it is presently defined has only been officially recognized since 1969, but it developed from older models of general medical practice in which all of a patient’s health care needs were met by a single physician. At the beginning of the 20th century, almost all physicians in the world were general practitioners, but the increasing volume of medical knowledge and reforms in medical education—such as those triggered in the United States by the Flexner Report of 1910—gave impetus to growing specialization in medical practice. Whereas more than 80 percent of American physicians were in general practice at the turn of the century, fewer than 20 percent had general practices by the mid-1970s; a similar shift to more specialized practice occurred in other developed countries, though usually to a lesser extent. Such countries as Great Britain reinforced the traditional ideas of general medical practice by making the general practitioner the entry point to the health care system; however, even in these countries, medical education and social status tended to favour specialists over generalists. Few training programs were designed to meet the needs of the family practitioner.

By the 1960s, worldwide concern had developed over the shortage of general practitioners, and several major reports by governmental bodies and medical planners emphasized the need for more family physicians to serve as the first contact with the health care system and to provide continuous care of patients. A World Health Organization (WHO) report in 1963 stressed the need for medical education that focused on the patient as a whole throughout life, rather than on specific organ systems, disease entities, or age groups. These studies led to the development of residency training programs that are specifically designed to prepare individuals for general, or family, practice. As a specialty, family practice incorporates portions of other medical specialties, including internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, and psychiatry; the family physician must undergo a series of comprehensive tests of medical skill and knowledge to demonstrate his familiarity with the rapidly changing body of medical knowledge in these areas. Recertification is required every six years.