Place and Role of Family Physicians in the Health Care System

This publication presents research that was carried out in two directions. We analyzed the current health care system through reviewing regulations and documents that have been developed in our country, and which were compared with the World Health Organization documents. Another direction of research was a survey in Banja Luka, which included the following: all primary health care physicians, all specialized hospital doctors, second, fifth and sixth year Medical College students and adult citizens, who sought medical attention at primary health care centre within the study period. The aims were to determine whether and to what extent the International Declaration on Primary Health Care was being applied and under what conditions the concept of family medicine could reach its full implementation in our health care system, whether and to what extent the modern concept of family medicine was acknowledged by our medical audience and general public and whether there was a willingness to accept and support this concept. The publication is intended for medical students, doctors and those involved in studying the health care system.