BMJ  2008;336:1406-1407 (21 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.a330

Feature

Primary care

Private practice

¹ London

Contracts to allow general practices to be run by private companies were supposed to be a last resort, but is this really the case? Andrew Cole reports

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

APMS (Alternative Provider of Medical Services) was once just another of the myriad health service acronyms that English general practitioners (GPs) were expected to master. But in recent months the APMS procurement process has become all too familiar and has led to fears it could threaten the foundations of general practice.

It’s a surprising turnaround. When APMS was launched it was billed as an unexceptional, indeed laudable, attempt to bring new blood into areas where practices had failed or had severe doctor shortages. In those situations contracts would be put out to tender and would be open to all comers—the private or voluntary sector or existing NHS practices.

Initially that’s how it worked. But recently the number of APMS schemes has risen sharply while the criteria for choosing this tendering method seem to have widened. The trend gained momentum with the government’s edict late last year that 100 new general . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

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Level playing fields? General practice can compete but will have to step up to the challenge.

Richard. L Puleston
bmj.com, 21 Jun 2008 [Full text]

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