Physical activity and health

attractive to private hospital groups than to the pharmaceutical industry, but, as in the United States, there would be scope for mergers and alliances.In primary care, contracting for services has hardly begun, but it would enable more quality control than in the present system and it would be more open to competition from alternative providers.Moreover, general practitioners will increasingly be looking for alternative ways of financing their premises.Already there are pharmacies in health centres owned by general practitioners: how long before we see general practitioners in premises owned by the private sector, and then the private provider contracting for the services?With government and health authorities under financial pressure and drug companies and private providers looking for commercial opportunities, increased cooperation is likely' between the public and private sectors.To prevent the pharmaceutical industry from becoming overdominant, the 1 Macara A. BMA rejects trend towards American style managed care.London: