Sharing care between hospital and the community: a critical review of developments in the UK

Abstract

Recent changes in health policy in the United Kingdom have emphasized the key importance of a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to the organization of health care. These changes have resulted in the formulation of programmes of shared care involving professionals from all areas of institutional and community practice. This paper critically explores the literature relating to shared care between hospital consultants and general practitioners (GPs) in the UK. The paper takes as its focus some clinical conditions for which shared care arrangements have been put into effect, and the implications of shared care for prescribing practice are discussed.