The new health practitioner--the past as prologue.

The training and utilization of New Health Practitioners (NHP's) has moved within a decade from a small tentative beginning in the mid-1960's to a major health manpower policy issue. Its discussion transcends a number of important and emotionally charged areas including the role of various professions in providing health care services, the renaissance of primary care, the geographic and economic maldistribution of medical services, and the cost of care. It is valuable to highlight what is known, what is professed and what needs to be studied further about this issue.