One of the few real and lasting benefits of international medical
meetings is the opportunity to meet, talk, gossip and get to know
colleagues from other countries. So it was that we met, talked and
planned at WONCA (World Organization of National Colleges and Academies
and Academic Associa- tions of General Practitioners/Family Physicians)
meetings at Montreux and New Orleans. We realized that although we
worked in different places and in different practices 'primary health
care' was essentially the same the world over. Our roles, our problems,
our clinical content, our challenges and objectives were similar whether
we work in Europe, North America, Australasia, South Africa or
developing countries. With such similarities we asked ourselves - 'why
not share our common experiences for mutual benefits?' The question
developed into an idea and the idea into this book. We started by
selecting what we considered were important topics and then we invited
friends and colleagues to join us in putting our experiences and beliefs
from years of practice to readers from all over the world to demonstrate
our common concerns and to learn from one another.