General practice and secondary care: working better together – a report by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges

This new report from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges explores ways to improve the primary/secondary care interface. The report has been written against the backdrop of ‘well-documented friction that commonly occurs at the interface between general practice and secondary care’. The aim of the research was to find as many examples as possible of ways the friction has been reduced or removed, and these solutions needed to be low cost and proven to work across the general practice and secondary care interface. The research was conducted through focus groups, online forums and one-to-one interviews, with more than 200 doctors, health service managers and patients contributing.

The report provides over 50 examples of where local collaboration has helped reduce unnecessary workload in both clinical settings. The recommendations covered in the report help improve quality of patient care and reduce burden on clinicians and have been split into three broad themes: Culture, Communication and Clinical process.

To read the full report, please see the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges website.