Table 1.

Comparison of general practitioner (GP) characteristics for the sample and the population of Australian general practitioners in 2001.

	GP sample	Australian population of GPs(a)
N	379	17,534
Male	61.4%	67.5%
Age group
<35 years	8.2%	12.1%
35–44	29.3%	27.1%
45–54	36.7%	32.0%
55 +	25.9%	28.8%
Urban/Metropolitan practice	76.0%	72.6%
Solo practice	16.1%	Not available
5 plus GPs in practice	45.2%	Not available

^(a) defined as practitioners who claimed the equivalent of 1,500 general practice (A1) Medicare items of service in 2001 (Medicare Benefits Schedule unpublished data, Australian Department of Health and Ageing)