[Medical group practice in primary care in six European countries, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec: what are the lessons for France ?].

Medical group practice in primary care remains comparatively undeveloped in France compared to other countries. In Finland and Sweden, doctors are grouped in local public structures with multidisciplinary teams, whereas in Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, they are organized in private units run by independent health professionals on a contractual basis. Among the factors explaining this trend, mention should in particular be made of a genuine political determination to place primary care at the heart of the health system and a definite change in health care supply and demand. This grouping often goes hand in hand with new rules and practices: voluntary registration procedures for patients with a doctor in group practice, greater cooperation between health professionals, changes in doctors' remuneration and new contracts between groups and health authorities. Certain signs are already visible in France, doubtless presaging an acceleration in the trend towards medical group practice.