ABSTRACT
The history of research in general practice and primary care goes back at least to the end of the 18th century. Thoughtful general practitioners could and did not only see research opportunities but pursued them with such effect that several of them contributed knowledge of world-class importance. The reasons for doing research in general practice/primary care, and doing much more of it, are clear and strong. The first important reason for a good deal of research being done in primary care is that there is a whole range of conditions, including most of the common infections and most of the common disturbances of mental state, which are not normally referred to hospital at all. In order to plan and maximise both quality and quantity it is necessary to understand the reasons for the state of general practice research and to plan carefully to develop it in the future. Three obstacles have dogged general practice research: training, technology, and organisation.
