Protecting Public Health: The Importance of Quality Training in Family Medicine

Primary Health Care is recognized as the basis of the most robust and effective national healthcare systems. The quality of the service provided has been recognized for many years and is, to a great extent, due to the professionalism and commitment of its professionals, in particular general practitioners / family doctors.

To achieve this, the quality of both undergraduate and postgraduate training is essential. In fact, improving the organization of General Practice / Family Medicine residency programs, regardless of the specificities of each country or region, has been associated with improvements in the care provided to the population, particularly in the fields of health promotion and disease prevention. As such, any attempt that puts the training of family doctors at risk must be seen as a threat to the health of populations and the sustainability of health care systems.

UEMO is dismayed by these initiatives which will jeopardize the proper functioning of General Practice / Family Medicine residency programs, regardless of whether they may be an indirect result of wider reforms to healthcare systems. UEMO calls for an urgent rethink on such proposals and stands ready to assist in deliberations.