The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Public sector housing is often allocated on the basis of the 'vulnerability' of applicants. As part of assessing vulnerability, housing departments request assessments from applicants' general practitioners (GPs). GP assessments submitted over 3 years to a local authority housing department were analysed. The nature of the patient group and format of the GP report discriminate against accurate reporting and hence fair assignment of housing.
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Multicenter Study
Management of acute asthma exacerbations by general practitioners: a cross-sectional observational survey.
General practitioners (GPs) have a central place in the management of asthma, particularly in the context of acute exacerbations. ⋯ Risk factors for near fatal asthma identified in previous studies were not predictive of a severe exacerbation in general practice, with the exception of short duration of exacerbation before consultation. This suggests that new methods to predict risk in the outpatient settings should be developed.
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Informal carers provide the bulk of palliative home care. They largely rely on general practitioners (GPs) and district nurses to support them in this role, yet little is known about what carers themselves consider important in this support. ⋯ Results largely confirmed findings of previous, quantitative research and the importance of a patient-centred approach. What emerged most strongly, however, was the central importance of accessibility of support services for lay carers responsible for end-of-life home care. This mainly concerned GP and district nurse support, but accessibility of additional care and equipment were also important. In short, carers' main focus was the basic support that enabled them to sustain care in the home.
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Cost-effectiveness of implementing new guidelines for treatment of hypertension in general practice.
Hypertension is a major public health concern and, as the population ages, the size of the problem is likely to increase. However, detection rates and treatment of hypertension have been low. The introduction of new guidelines for the detection and treatment of hypertension have been encouraged but without any consideration to their cost-effectiveness. ⋯ Compared with previous guidelines, introducing new guidelines for the management and treatment of hypertension in new patients in general practice is likely to be cost-effective. However, the workforce implications for general practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses should be considered.