TO TREAT - TO BEFRIEND - TO PREVENT - PATIENTS AND GPS VIEWS OF THE DOCTORS ROLE

Objective - To examine and compare patients' and GPs' views of the doc tor's role and patients' reasons for going to the doctor. Design - A c ross sectional questionnaire survey. Setting - General practices acros s England. Subjects - 501 patients and 68 GPs. Main outcome measures - Beliefs about the doctors' role and beliefs about patients' reasons f ar going to the doctor in terms of illness treatment, a psychosocial a pproach and preventive health care. Results - A majority of both patie nts and GPs agreed that the doctor's role Nas primarily to treat illne ss. However, whereas patients showed greater Endorsement for preventiv e health care and a belief that the doctor's role Nas to keep people h ealthy, GPs showed greater support for an emphasis on personal problem s. In terms of patients' reasons for visiting their doctor, a majority of both patients and GPs agreed that illness prevention and illness t reatment mere important. However, more patients believed that patients visit the doctor for illness prevention than Gks, more of whom felt t hat patients seek help with their personal problems. Conclusion - The results indicate a mismatch between patients' and GPs' beliefs, which has implications for understanding the impact of recent changes in pri mary care and the effects on GPs' job satisfaction.