ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the overall concept of the policy and its implementation through the eyes of general practitioners and public health physicians who actually have to make it work on a day-to-day basis. It also deals with the origins of the policy and identifies its key features and how it will affect primary care workers. The book describes how routine databases and surveys can be used in conjunction with qualitative methods to create an overall picture. It also describes the evolution of fundholding, its strengths in bringing about change, and argues that it still has much to offer. The book proposes a model of how general practitioners can exert influence through commissioning. It addresses the ubiquitous problems of getting patients in and out of hospital with the minimum of inconvenience.
