Reengineering systems in general practice—A case study review

This paper evalautes three case study general practices in terms of their chronic disease management. Issues of systems, strategies, culture and ways of working are all discussed. The three case studies manage their operations differently but one practice uses an innovative information system, the Dunlop Recall Management (DRM) system, to manage their patients with chronic diseases from a holistic perspective, treating patients on the basis of their individual health status and associated conditions rather than managing them through a series of separate predefined clinics for individual conditions. This system draws together data from across the whole practice and helps to avoid problems of system incompatibility and data fragmentation frequently found in this branch of primary health care. A key question arises as to whether general practices should adopt the DRM system across Scotland for the management of chronic care.