Dr. Ray Walley:

There is a recent study done by Imperial College in the UK. The good thing about having our neighbour, the UK, is it has thrown so much money at issues. They have shown the evidence base there and what has worked and what has not. A recent study looking at what patients thought was best, found that individual GP principal-led group practice provided more satisfaction, more continuity and fewer referrals. One must bear in mind that the cost of the health care system is in the hospitals and if one has somebody making a decision that refers everything to the hospital, it is ultimately the State that pays for it. The evidence is that corporate does not work.

Corporate works at scale. The evidence is that practices of approximately three GPs know their patients and there is continuity of care and as a result, one maintains best practise. Patients want to know their GPs. In many corporates, they do not know their GPs. The evidence base is there to show that it is not effective health care. The biggest example is America. American health care is not something one wants to replicate.