The role of family and community doctors in Primary Health Care in Uruguay

Objective: to define the activities that family and community doctors should or could conduct in Primary Health Care (PHC), within the framework of the Primary Health Care Strategy in Uruguay. Method: exploratory study consulting expert from academia, in two stages Results: eleven experts on family and community medicine from the University of the Republic in Uruguay participated in the study. The main results consisted in the achievement of a national consensus on the activities that family and community medicine must or may conduct in primary health care. Conclusions: family and community doctors take part in several clinical and management activities with a family and community perspective. Differences arise in connection with the approach to community activities they should conduct. Establishing family and community medicine activities will enable to better define their rolein the health team and to encourage their development.