ABSTRACT
A general practice is ‘owned’ or contracted by selfemployed practitioners. The ‘owner’ or ‘contractor’ could be an individual GP or a partnership where two or more individuals form a partnership, one of whom must be a medical practitioner. A third option could be a limited company whereby one of the shareholders is a medical practitioner. A general practice is an organization and,
dependent on size, will have a number of individuals working for that organization with varying skills and knowledge. Most partnerships will employ a practice manager or business manager
to work with them on the strategic aspects of running their business, but also to manage all of the operational aspects. As most GPs have had very little training in business management skills, it is important to bring those skills into the business.
