For me, being a GP means being the first port of call for my patients. To advise them, support them long-term, make home visits and, if necessary, select the right specialist together. General medicine consists of the following 11 essential elements:
- In the healthcare system, general medicine usually represents the first point of contact and guarantees open and unlimited access to all users and for all health-related issues regardless of age, gender or other characteristics of the individual in question.
- It makes efficient use of the resources available to the healthcare system by coordinating the support, working together with other primary care professionals and managing the communication with other specialist areas, and, if necessary, representing the interests of the patient.
- They work with a personal approach that focuses on the individual as well as their family and living environment.
- They offer a special consultation process, which helps to build up long-term relationships thanks to the effective communication between the doctor and the patient.
- They are responsible for long-term care as determined by the patient’s needs.
- They use a specific decision-making process, which is governed by the prevalence and number of cases of illnesses among the population.
- They simultaneously address acute and chronic health problems of individual patients.
- They address illnesses that appear in a different form during the early stages of their development and that may require urgent treatment.
- They promote good health and well-being through appropriate and effective treatments.
- They bear a specific responsibility for the general public’s health.
- They deal with health issues in their physical, psychological, social and existential states.