Atención primaria y medicina general familiar / Primary care and family medicine in Chile

ABSTRACT

The philosophy and characteristics of primary medical care (PMA) and its development in Chile are outlined as of the original institutions which led to the National Health Service, including the early experiences in functional integration designed to encourage programmes in integral medicine. The complexity of the problems tackled by PMA is described and the point is illustrated by the morbidity known to occur in a peripheral urban consulting centre. There are different types of medical practice in PMA ranging from that given by specialists in medicine, paediatrics, and obstetrics to the model based on the general physician and the physician specialized in family medicine. The main characteristics of Family Medicine are derived from the concept of the family as a social unit.(AU)