Family medicine on the rise in Kosovo.

Abstract

Ask most people in the West about Kosovo and they will think of an ethnic war where NATO intervened. Yet from that inauspicious start, one of the 21st century’s newest republics has nurtured its primary health care to a level where it is now a beacon of excellence in the region. The first steps were taken in late 1999 by a group of family doctors enthused by their experience of training by visitors from the American Academy of Family Physicians and the International Medical Corps. Forming the Association of Family Physicians, they ran workshops promoting the concept of primary care throughout the country despite opposition from secondary care specialists. The mission was later supported officially by the Ministry of Health, which set about rebuilding health centres, establishing the Centre for the Development of Family Medicine. This centre was tasked with developing and delivering a strategy for primary care and its role has been vital for the creation of …