Chemical pathology and the new contract for GPs.

T he new GMS contract agreed in 2003 is arguably the biggest change in terms of service since the formation of the National Health Service. Work practices, and hence surgery income, will be determined by several income streams, one of which is a quality payment for achieving defined clinical goals. Several of those goals directly or indirectly involve the results of analyses carried out in pathology laboratories, and accordingly the new contract will potentially have a major impact on the workload within pathology and to varying degrees within subspecialties.