BACKGROUND: In many countries, the medical primary-secondary care interface is central to the delivery of quality patient care. There is prevailing interest in developing initiatives to improve interface working for the benefit of health care professionals and their patients.

AIM: To describe the development of an educational intervention designed to improve working at the primary-secondary care interface in NHS Scotland (United Kingdom) within the context of the Medical Research Council framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions.

METHODS: A primary-secondary care interface focused Practice-based Small Group Learning (PBSGL) module was developed building upon qualitative synthesis and original research. A 'meeting of experts' shaped the module, which was subsequently piloted with a group of interface clinicians. Reflections on the module were sought from clinicians across NHS Scotland to provide contextual information from other areas.

FINDINGS: The PBSGL approach can be usefully applied to the development of a primary-secondary care interface-focused medical educational intervention.