• Elizabeth Hemphill, Steve Dunn, Hayley Barich, and Rebecca Infante.
• School of Marketing, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia. elizabeth.hemphill@unisa.edu.au
• Aust J Rural Health. 2007 Dec 1; 15 (6): 360-7.

ObjectiveThis paper repositions the challenge of attracting and retaining rural GPs in a marketing context as a new focus for future research and policy development.DesignCase study with mixed design of surveys of GPs and medical students and depth interviews with GPs, medical students, regional-division administrators and GP recruitment agents.SettingGP recruitment and retention in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia.ParticipantsTwenty-seven Limestone Coast (LC) GPs; random sample of medical students from Adelaide University, Adelaide University Rural Health Society and Flinders University; snowball sampling two adjacent rural regions (20 GPs); and administrators from LC and adjacent regions and GP recruitment agencies in Adelaide.Main Outcome MeasuresDrawing from marketing theory, creative suggestion of 'promotion of the practice and not the region' offers a means of GP recruitment and retention for structured succession planning for rural general practices.ResultsStructural attempts to broaden the GP market with overseas recruitment have done little for improving full-time equivalent GP levels. Market segmentation and market orientation offer a new emphasis on value exchange between the corporation (the practice), customer (GPs) and competition (all practices) to influence future mobility.ConclusionA marketing orientation to the GP challenge emphasises individual's perceptions of value, GP expectations and practice offerings. Failure to acknowledge benefits of this marketing approach means that solutions such as those developed in the Limestone Coast region are unlikely. Research is now required to define GP satisfaction and value for long-term viability of general practices.

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