Patients' attitudes towards a rural health centre.

The Sharbot Lake Family Medical Centre has a number of features which are unusual for medical practices in this rural area, including a nurse practitioner, a secretary-receptionist, and the use of an appointment system. Surveys were conducted to determine the acceptability of this style of practice to the population of the area. The results suggest that the health centre is just as acceptable as is conventional solo practice, and that a high proportion of residents in the area have quickly come to regard the physician in the centre as their family doctor.