The PHLS primary care initiative was set up to develop and maintain links with primary care professionals, including researchers, GP research networks, and primary care groups in order to prioritize research and laboratory service developments. Such collaboration has spawned the development of antibiotic guidance, which has been posted on the Internet, and participation of the PHLS in other infectious disease guidance (for example, Prodigy). The implementation of the NHS information strategy will further facilitate the development of and access to local and national primary care guidance, laboratory reporting, and participation in surveillance. Primary care professionals identified several main research priorities in an exercise that facilitated collaboration in the development of research projects and grant applications. These priorities are the natural history of infections presenting to GPs, antibiotic resistance, the role of clinical scores and the laboratory in the diagnosis of infection, the importance of patient and professional attitudes in modifying antimicrobial prescribing, and the role of health professionals in community infection control. Current rapid changes in primary care in the new NHS--such as NHS Direct and the establishment of walk-in centres--may affect the surveillance of communicable disease by offering opportunities for improved data collection but also by posing threats to current systems of surveillance.