General practice/family medicine has recently been recognized as amedical discipline in Austria. This paper is ashort report on the prevailing understanding of its goals and subjects, comparing the Austrian perception with international definitions. It comments on shortcomings and introduces an outline for the development of arevised professional theory.At present, there is no clear uniform image of the discipline, neither among the general public, nor among physicians, healthcare professionals or decision makers. The reason for this lies in the historical development which, with the triumph of specialization, has led to aloss of importance for generalist medicine. Now it is the fragmentation that extensive specialization entails that gives anew meaning to generalist, contextual and patient-centered medicine.This change needs to be analyzed and understood. Adescription of the responsibilities, tasks and very specific methods unique to the discipline will be developed, which should enable the sensible, contemporary use of general practice/family medicine for the benefit of patients and the healthcare system.