Here at Ockham Healthcare, the question we have been giving most thought to is what the future of general practice will be.

We asked Mark Newbold what he thought the biggest change to general practice would in the next 10 years. Find out what he said here. We will be asking the same question to a whole range of people over the next 6 months, in an attempt to build a picture from a variety of perspectives as to what the future will hold.

We also want to ask you the question. We want you to be part of the debate. We want to know what you think the future of general practice will look like in 10 years’ time. Do you think independent general practice will still exist? If not, what do you think will be in its place? Will the role of the GP have changed, and if so what will they be doing? Will technology have transformed the way patients and GPs interact? Will the registered list even still exist on a local basis? Will we have moved all the way to 10 or 20 large providers of general practice? Or will the profession have been subsumed within acute hospitals, community trusts and the nascent accountable care organisations? Or will it be exactly the same as it is now?

These are important questions. Each practice is regularly faced with decisions about its future. GPs have to determine how much autonomy to give up to federations and networks, and how much to retain for themselves. Commissioners have to choose how to invest the GP Forward View money in general practice for best effect. Everyone has to work out how to cope with the falling numbers of GPs.

A clear vision of the future will help. At present, there isn’t one. If general practice knows where it is going, it is more likely to be able to control its own destiny, to make the right decisions today that will impact tomorrow, and to build for the future instead of protecting the past.

Be part of the conversation. Tell us what you think. We literally want to hear your voice. You can do this in a number of different ways. Either record your views on your phone or ipad or computer, and send the MP3 file to me, Ben Gowland, at ben@ockham.healthcare, or we can set up a 5 min Skype call where we can record what you think, or just email me and we will work out a way to do it!

We will be bringing all of the different thoughts and thinking together at our conference in March next year. Get involved now, so that we can shape the future together!