ABSTRACT
The fragmentation of medicine into subspecialties slowly diminished the place in the community of the generalists: the general physician/general practitioner and general surgeon. New advances made a real difference to the outcome of medical care. It was imperative, therefore, that the physician in primary care should have the training and expertise required to use these new advances effectively and efficiently. This led to the emergence of family practice as the natural inheritor of the ancient traditions of general medicine. The practice environment in the community is informal, while that institution is formally regulated. The individual seen in a family practice is autonomous, ambulant and wearing everyday clothes. The individual in hospital is psychologically institutionalized, dependent and is most often seen by the physician as a 'patient', often wearing pyjamas and recumbent in bed. Many emergencies are first seen by the family physician and most are dealt with entirely in family practice.
