Policy and Place

GRAHAM MOON is Professor of Health Services Research and Associate Director of Research at the University of Portsmouth. He has published widely in the areas of health geography and health policy and is editor-in-chief of the journal Health and Place.NANCY NORTH is Senior Lecturer in Health Policy at the University of Portsmouth. She is co-editor (with Yvonne Bradshaw) of Perspectives in Health Care (1997, Macmillan Press) and her research interests include health care commissioning, consumerism and NHS reform.

• IntroductionThe Development of General Practice: From Potions to PurchasingPromoting Better HealthGatekeeping and Beyond: GP Fundholding and Commissioning ModelsAccounting for their Actions: Regulation and the GP Practices and PatientsPractices in Context: Urban and Rural General PracticeGPs and their Patients: Relationships Defined by Profession and PolicyGeneral Practice, Health and Social Care: Histories and ChallengesConclusion: Comparisons and FuturesBibliographyIndex.

'I found this a stimulating book in which the authors' commitment to the field of general practice clearly comes across. They engage with the issues through active critique rather than sitting on the sidelines providing a commentary. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in primary care who wants to know what the challenges really are. It would also be valuable for anyone working in health as the professional and organisation changes afoot in UK general practice have potentially far-reaching consequences for health care overall.' - Moira Kelly, Medical Sociology News