About the PHCSG

The Primary Health Care Specialist Group is a specialist group of the British Computer Society, the chartered body for informatics professionals.

Founded in 1981 the PHCSG brings together all of the disciplines involved in primary care informatics and provides a two-way link between cutting edge development and grass roots practice. Members include clinicians, managers, academics and suppliers with a good proportion of people working at the frontline in their respective areas.

The Group is concerned with the development and dissemination of best practice in primary care informatics, and seeks to influence policy makers to ensure the effective application of informatics for the benefit of patients. The Group seeks to draw on the latest thinking in global informatics both from within and outside the healthcare sector and its extensive knowledge of past activities and current realities in UK primary care to provide practical advice for those responsible for the development and implementation of primary care informatics.

The Group runs two major conferences each year with a number of smaller Special Interest Group meetings across the year. We have a well respected and fully indexed journal “Informatics in Primary Care”, run a number of Internet based discussion forums and publish a regular electronic newsletter.

While the Group has a UK focus we have a number of members from other parts of the world and have strong links with health informatics bodies in Europe, North America and Australasia.

Over its history the Group has developed excellent links with other bodies and it provides it members with access and influence across its well developed networks.

Membership is open to all interested parties including individuals, NHS and other public sector bodies, independent sector organisations and commercial companies, see www.phcsg.org for for more details.