Family doctors and clinical trials

Abstract

There is a growing awareness that research in primary care is needed to provide excellent clinical and population-based care, to develop effective health systems and policies, and to educate future primary care professionals and researchers. The relevance of research undertaken in primary care is unquestionable: the results of researches conducted in other settings has limited relevance because primary care encounters health problems rarely managed in other sectors of health care (i.e. low probability of major acute disease and high prevalence of comorbidity). From legislative aspects to limits and difficulties of application, the article underlines the importance of research in primary care in the Italian context, where this kind of activity is almost absent. An example, concerning the Genova ASL 3, is reported to suggest strategies to promote and improve research as an integral component of family doctors skills.