The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Prescribing high doses of methotrexate increases the potentially fatal risk of toxicity. To minimise risk, it is recommended that only 2.5 mg tablets are used. ⋯ The prevalence of unsafe methotrexate prescribing has reduced but remains common, with substantial variation between practices and CCGs. The authors recommend investment in better strategies around implementation. As 21 deaths that occurred from 1993-2017 in England and Wales were attributed to methotrexate poisoning, the coroners' reports for these deaths should be reviewed to identify recurring themes.
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Demand for GP services in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) is increasing, and the resultant escalation in workload demands is an issue of growing concern. Accordingly, the accurate measurement and description of GP workload is essential to inform future healthcare planning. ⋯ To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to provide an objective, accurate, and granular real-time measurement of GP workload in the RoI, demonstrating the significant volume and variety of work undertaken by GPs in the RoI.
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Organ donor registration helps guide decision making for families. UK general practice provides the facility to register on the NHS Organ Donor Register, but only to new patients. An intervention was developed to present a registration opportunity to existing patients in this setting. ⋯ The intervention was found to be feasible and acceptable by some staff and patients. Feasibility criteria were met; therefore, the intervention can progress to further testing.