Medicine and management: a conflict facing general practice?

Partners and practice managers are beginning to understand implications of management issues raised by recent reforms. Practices involved in this study agree the need for improvement, but partners and managers were often unable to define improvements needed. Demonstrates that effective management structure is vital to future success for general practice. To achieve this involves understanding new managerial challenges practices must meet and different organizational competences required. To change requires a radical restructure of many practice roles and several options are considered. Regardless of the chosen option the question of training remains. There is a need to involve consultants, managers, and doctors already advancing the boundaries of practice development, in a dialogue with institutions providing management training, to design suitable programmes. Academic institutions too often produce management programmes geared towards the old environment, whereas managerial skills which changes in the NHS demand from future practice managers are now required.