An additional £40million will be made available to help boost GP practices in deprived and rural areas.
The money will be targeted at helping doctors with a high proportion of elderly patients and those living in remote areas.
The Royal College of Practitioners has warned that a shortage of money is putting patients at risk.
It claimed that long waiting times for appointments, short consultations and weakening relationships between doctors and patients were contributing to a “crisis in general practice”.
But NHS Highland said tackling the problems facing rural areas is not about money but making the best use of available skills and resources.
The money will boost funding available for GP and primary care services to nearly £170million.
According to the Scottish Government the extra money for the primary care development fund will “support new ways of delivering local GP and primary care services that can better support the changing demographics of the Scottish population”.
Health Secretary Alex Neil said: “GPs and primary care professionals will be vital to ensuring that health and social care are effectively integrated from April next year, and this new investment will help them design and implement primary care services that best meet the needs of their communities.”
NHS Highland associate medical director, Ken Proctor, welcomed the government acknowledgement of the pressures on rural healthcare.
He said: “It’s not all about money. We need to maximise the skill set of all members of the healthcare team and ensure everyone is working to the ‘top of the licence’.”
Dr Alan McDevitt, chairman of the BMA’s Scottish GP Committee, said just over 1,000 GP practices provide healthcare to 5.5million people in Scotland.
“Over the past decade, investment in general practice has stagnated and the GP workforce is facing increasing pressure to meet this rising demand without any significant investment in the capacity or resources for general practice,” he said.
“It is therefore welcome that the Scottish Government now recognises there is a problem and has plans for a development fund for GP and primary care services.”