Family practitioner committee records--a neglected resource. 2. Drawing the profile of an area.

Capitation and item of service fees paid by a family practitioner committee can be analysed to produce a profile of the area which covers list sizes, age structure and mobility of the population and the extent of various practice activities. Such an analysis was made for Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster, an area for which it was particularly appropriate to consider these variables in terms of partnership size and doctor's age. Practices with one or two principals had lower rates of claiming for items of service than the larger partnerships, and within these smaller groupings it was the practices with elderly doctors that had the lowest rates. The findings indicate a problem associated with elderly doctors but wider conclusions are not necessarily justified. Profiles produced in the way described should be available for local planning but must be interpreted with caution.