EMANCIPATION OF BIOGRAPHICAL MEDICINE

This paper describes the relationship between British general practice and hospital-derived medical knowledge. It is argued that the hospital has historically dominated general practice through the hegemony enjoyed by its particular cognitive structure. It is suggested however that this dominance has been threatened in recent years by a realignment in general practice perceptions of the nature of the medical problematic which in emphasising the biographical elements in the patient's problem represents a significant break from the old clinico-pathological hospital medicine. © 1979.