The expanding role of generalists in rural and remote health: A systematic review

Rural and remote communities have poorer health outcomes and health care access than urban populations. Doctors are in short supply. Generalist practitioners in rural and remote areas apply a broad scope of clinical practice. Despite policy support for generalism and initiatives to sustain skills, trends towards sub-specialisation, diminishing practice scope among General Practitioners and loss of generalist specialists continue. This review examined policy options for expanding generalist roles in the rural and remote context.