GP's could be allowed to employ private companies to manage NHS funds, freeing them up for more pressing, frontline duties.

In another big reform planned by the coalition government, those in well-placed GP roles would be asked to join a consortium of health professionals including those in senior practitioner jobs to 'buy' healthcare for their patients.

However, such important yet time consuming duties could now be outsourced to external private companies, giving GP's more freedom to interact with patients, rather than organising administrative tasks associated with patient healthcare provision.

With the NHS looking to save around £14bn a year until 2014, according to Healthcare Republic, such outsourcing could act to go some way to address the budget deficit.

However, healthcare commentators have expressed concerns that GP's should not distance themselves too far away from the commissioning process. Earl Howe, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Health, commented in The Daily Telegraph, saying: ''Bringing together responsibility for clinical decisions with the financial consequences of those decisions will see greater cost effectiveness. It is important doctors and consortia do not distance themselves from commissioning by too much.''

Howe added that GP's must still remain accountable even if outsourcing takes place, saying: ''They will be held to account - if they do task others to take on the job on their behalf they need to make sure the organisation is doing it properly.''