ABSTRACT
In Britain there has long been a sharp division between the primary and secondary levels of medical care, with hospital out-patient clinics forming the main focus of interaction between the two. The specialist-generalist relationship forms the nidus of effective patient care. New impetus has come from the development of psychiatric clinics based in primary care. Finally, psychiatric specialists gain a greater understanding of the limitations of time, interest, and skills of GPs and of the difficulties encountered in primary care psychiatry. Little of the research into psychiatry in primary care has been undertaken by GPs themselves in contrast to areas such as family planning and medicine. In the future the interaction between psychiatrist and family doctor needs to be seen in the broader context, emphasizing that the interface between the two disciplines is only one component of the full circle of care.
