General Medical Services (
GMS) is the term used to describe the range of healthcare that is provided by
General Practitioners (GPs or family doctors) as part of the
National Health Service in the United Kingdom. The NHS specifies what GPs, as
independent contractors, are expected to do and provides funding for this work through arrangements known as the
General Medical Services Contract. Today, the GMS contract is a UK-wide arrangement with minor differences negotiated by each of the four UK health departments.