Background: Research has shown that many activities routinely used for continuing education and quality improvement in general practice, such as written information and lectures, have little or no effect on practice.
Material and methods: The Norwegian Institute of Public Health initiated a consensus-building process on how to improve continuing education and quality improvement in Norwegian general practice.
Results and interpretation: The work of the consensus panel led to a report in which nine initiatives were proposed: development of a national plan, strengthening of the support available for group-based learning, academic outreach visits, practice based activities, personal learning plans, a national centre for quality improvement in general practice, improved use of referral and discharge information, multidisciplinary collaboration, and patient involvement.