title: General practitioners are the future intermediaries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Technological changes will have a large influence on medical practice. This article discusses the influences of technology and innovation on the role of general practitioners.
  
  
  METHODS
  This conceptual paper is based on a triangulation of expert discussions and literature studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The tasks of general practitioners as well as the role allocation between medical generalists and specialists may change profoundly. We predict that innovation will lead to a situation where general practitioners will increasingly have to face the challenge of acting as intermediaries. They will have to integrate various information sources for their patients. At the same time, they may increasingly contribute to biomedical research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), Zurich, Switzerland. roman.boutellier@sl.ethz.ch
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boutellier
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Zoller
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D020811:Biomedical Technology; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D058005:General Practitioners; D006801:Humans; D005791:Patient Care; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D024382:Professional Role