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The Evolving State of General Practice and GP Education in Germany

Mark Reed, Bianca Lehmann and Markus Herrmann

The general practitioner (GP) is of great importance in Germany: about 90% of the population has their own GP and approximately 70% of the population attend their general practice at least once per year; indeed, nearly a quarter of the population has continuous care from their GP. As the disease burden shifts further towards chronic disease, mainly as a result of demographic ageing, the demand for GP care will continue to increase in the coming years. The aim of this article is to summarise how general practice has developed in Germany and to illustrate that there is still a long way to go, both in terms of progress that should be made and the gap between Germany and other countries. It is hoped this will be a spur to further improvements as well as a resource for health sectors in countries other than Germany. The sources of information are the German Society for General Practice (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Allgemein Medizin - DEGAM), a general review of the literature, the experiences and perspectives of a GP in England, and the experience of another of the authors, who has both contributed to and witnessed the changes of the last three decades in German General Practice. There are many terms used in the literature for GPs, including GP specialists, family doctors and primary care physicians, each of which is in vogue in different countries. This article uses the term GP to cover all of these.