The return of old family doctors in the new Europe

Old-fashioned healthcare systems are not well equipped to cope with the major public health challenges of the nineties. Since the beginning of the nineties, total health expenditure has increased considerably through out Eastern Europe. Economic changes coupled with the urgent need to transform healthcare systems to meet the demands of the medical community and to satisfy rising patient expectations compelled governments to draw up a plan of action. The Polish experience provides a good example of this development.