Preventive work in family medicine - Proactive approach

The role of general practitioner/family physician (GP/FP) in disease prevention and health promotion is strongly supported by research and health policies. The position of GPs/FPs in the health care system and their close, sustained contact with their patients and local community makes preventive care an integral part of GP/FP routine work. The spectrum of caring for patients in general practice/family medicine is actually very large, going from intervention on health care determinants to palliative care. The prevention-related activities are more or less present at each step of this "healthcare continuum". The significant gaps between GP/FP knowledge and practices persist in the use of evidence-based recommendations for health promotion and disease prevention. We describe the role of GP/FP in preventive care and report data on preventive care activities in the Croatian Family Medicine Service. More objective evidence is needed to see what GPs/FPs actually do in practice. For this reason, it is critical that GPs/FPs systematically record the most relevant preventive and health promotion activities that they perform. Furthermore, their performance of the preventive program should be regularly monitored, evaluated and professionally and financially validated. We present the preventive program based on these principles in Family Medicine Service proposed by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Working Group on Reform of Primary Health Care.