Family practice
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The current hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening practices may fail to detect many infected patients who could benefit from new therapeutic agents to limit progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. ⋯ In a low endemic region, the testing rate and cascade of care of HBV and HCV-infected patients can be improved in primary care, especially in high-risk groups and patients with abnormal ALT levels.
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In 2020, 19.2 million people were diagnosed with cancer, and nearly 10 million cancer patients died worldwide. An effective cancer care pathway must be based on coordination, multidisciplinarity, a personalized approach, and collaboration between stakeholders. Follow-up can be improved by good collaboration and communication between GPs and the cancer care team at a common level of organization. ⋯ This SINPATIC substudy provided us a better understanding of the complexity of the patient care pathway. Looking forward, the present findings might stimulate thoughts on the design and development of interventional studies.
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While nearly 50% of adult women report at least one episode of urinary incontinence (UI), most never receive treatment. ⋯ Promising results from a novel UI care pathway pilot indicate that streamlining UI care may assist primary care providers in the first-line treatment of UI.
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Family physicians have a higher incidence of burnout, dissatisfaction, and disengagement compared to other medical specialties. Addressing burnout on the individual and systemic level is important to promoting wellness and preventing deleterious effects on physicians and patients. We used the Physician Wellness Inventory (PWI) to assess the effects of a wellness programme designed to equip family physicians with skills to address burnout. ⋯ The wellness programme shows improvement in PWI scores, indicating the programme content should be evaluated further for system level improvements.
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Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a persistent skin disorder that is characterized by painful lesions or pus-filled lumps, mostly occurring in areas where the skin flexes. It is a disfiguring condition that significantly reduces the quality of life of those affected. Developing new, effective treatments for HS is crucial, but it is important that it be recognized and diagnosed early, especially in primary care settings. ⋯ This study found that correct diagnoses of HS were made, as demonstrated by the expected relationship with clinical correlates. These associations were consistent when probable cases were included in the analysis. This evidence could serve as a foundation for proposing a decision support system for general practitioners to help identify HS in individuals with certain coexisting conditions.