The American general practitioner in hospital

Abstract

In the U.S.A. and Canada full access of general practitioners to hospital beds and facilities is regarded as an essential privilege of their work. All hospital constitutions require a review of the credentials of staff applicants and continuing evaluation of their performance. Staff appointment carries administrative as well as clinical responsibilities and hospital work occupies a considerable proportion of the general practitioner's day. The disciplinary machinery for safeguarding standards is strict by comparison with British hospital practice.This system produces an obvious excellence of clinical standards, postgraduate education, and communication between specialist and general practitioner and is attractive to the more able young British graduate. A pilot experiment of hospital staffing on North American lines in one of our new district general hospitals would be a worthwhile proposition.