gms | German Medical Science

Background: Health systems centred on Primary Health Care(PHC) represent a global objective and a clear way of evolution. A strong PHC system results in a healthier population and may affect population health more than specialized services. Family medicine in Macedonia began to implement in 2009 starting specialist studies in family medicine.The gap between the supply of primary care physicians and the demand for primary care continues to grow.

Question: What are the principal goals underlying the practice of the future? How we can improve the role of primary care in keeping patients well and independent?

Methods: The aim of this paper is to analyze the current legislation and strategies for family medicine and to give proposals for its future development. Information about the situation was gathered from literature reviews and personal interviews. The paper will serve as a discussion paper for the session during 51st Congress of DEGAM.

Results: Data demonstrate that family medicine has been introduced in university curricula and family medicine is an important part of the Health Strategy of Macedonia 2020. The main objective is the realization of a reliable, efficient and equitable health care system that provides affordable quality health services at primary care level. The key areas of concern are lack of interest for specialization, atomization of practices, unsatisfactory payment systems, lack of academic infrastructure and unsatisfactory continuous professional development.

Discussion: The position of family medicine in Macedonia is formally adequate, but a lot of effort will still be necessary to achieve the desired level of its recognition,functionality and quality.