General practice has entered a period of accelerating change, and those responsible for planning its development now put forward a variety of promising proposals. Unless provision is made for large scale experimentation and scientific evaluation, the direction of future change will be determined not by evidence but by rhetoric. A framework for creating and evaluating a substantial programme of experimentation is suggested. The programme is the logical next step in the process of change which was given impetus by the publication of the government green paper. It should be seen as a professional, moral and political priority.
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