In countries with well established primary care systems - such as the United Kingdom, Denmark and New Zealand - the general practitioner or family physician often serves as the co-ordinating hub for routine and specialised care. As primary care settings are typically the first point of contact for people seeking health care, they are also ideally situated to assess and prevent health risks through health promotion, health education and preventive action. In turn, this has the potential to reduce the need for costly and unnecessary hospital care. Effective primary care can improve the quality of life for people living with a chronic condition by stabilising disease progression through regular and co-ordinated health checks and ultimately can reduce the number of years of life lost by preventing premature death.