The responsibility and orientation of general practice from the response to public health emergencies

General practitioners (GPs) are the health gatekeepers of residents and play an important role in the prevention and control of public health emergencies and major infectious diseases. Since the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, the whole country has launched an unprecedented epidemic prevention and control campaign top the epidemic. All medical staff of primary medical institutions had been mobilized and played an active role in the epidemic prevention and control. However, the epidemic has also exposed some shortcomings of general practice services, such as shortage of GPs; inadequate GPs' service capacity, especially the public health service capability; the blocked tiered medical services, and imperfect long-term cooperation mechanism between hospitals and primary medical institutions; insufficient community health management, community health care, community health education and community psychological intervention; GPs have not really played the role of residents' health gatekeeper. So the system of general medical service should be established and perfected. More GPs with competency should be trained. Prevention and treatment coordinated development should be built up. Health Alliance between general hospitals and primary medical institutions should be strengthened. First contact at grass-roots level and free two-way referral should be realized. Community health education, community psychological intervention and community health management should be improved. By providing diversified forms of general practice service, we can continuously improve the comprehensive service ability of primary medical institutions, deepen the connotation of general practice service, and promote the standardized development of general practice. Qualified GPs are not only medical practitioners, but also public health physicians, which can help to realize the efficient and coordinated operation between basic medical and basic public health services.