PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - D Memel
TI  - Chronic disease or physical disability? The role of the general practitioner.
DP  - 1996 Feb 01
TA  - British Journal of General Practice
PG  - 109--113
VI  - 46
IP  - 403
4099  - http://bjgp.org/content/46/403/109.short
4100  - http://bjgp.org/content/46/403/109.full
SO  - Br J Gen Pract1996 Feb 01; 46
AB  - There has been a lack of discussion and consensus as to what the role of the general practitioner should be in the care of patients with chronic diseases. Should general practitioners concentrate on the disease or should their remit include the resultant disability and handicap? General practitioners have tended to concentrate on the disease, but this may be inappropriate. For many disabled people, their general practitioner is their only source of health care and is the gatekeeper to other services. Greater knowledge among doctors of the functional and social aspects of disease would therefore improve the quality of care for patients, and should be assessed through clinical audit. Ways are described in which general practitioners, working together with their patients with chronic diseases and with other health professionals, can improve aspects of the care of these patients.