The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Economic evaluation of nurse practitioners versus GPs in treating common conditions.
As studies evaluating substitution of care have revealed only limited evidence on cost-effectiveness, a trial was conducted to evaluate nurse practitioners as a first point of contact in Dutch general practices. ⋯ By involving nurse practitioners, substantial economic 'savings' could be used for redesigning primary care, to optimise the best skill mix, and to cover the full range of primary care activities.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Effectiveness of shared pharmaceutical care for older patients: RESPECT trial findings.
The pharmaceutical care approach serves as a model for medication review, involving collaboration between GPs, pharmacists, patients, and carers. Its use is advocated with older patients who are typically prescribed several drugs. However, it has yet to be thoroughly evaluated. ⋯ The RESPECT model of pharmaceutical care (Randomised Evaluation of Shared Prescribing for Elderly people in the Community over Time) shared between community pharmacists and GPs did not significantly change the appropriateness of prescribing or quality of life in older patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Cost-effectiveness of shared pharmaceutical care for older patients: RESPECT trial findings.
Pharmaceutical care serves as a collaborative model for medication review. Its use is advocated for older patients, although its cost-effectiveness is unknown. Although the accompanying article on clinical effectiveness from the RESPECT (Randomised Evaluation of Shared Prescribing for Elderly people in the Community over Time) trial finds no statistically significant impact on prescribing for older patients undergoing pharmaceutical care, economic evaluations are based on an estimation, rather than hypothesis testing. ⋯ Although pharmaceutical care is estimated to be cost-effective in the UK, the results are uncertain and further research into its long-term benefits may be worthwhile.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Text messaging reminders to reduce non-attendance in chronic disease follow-up: a clinical trial.
Non-attendance results in administrative problems and disruption in patient care. Several interventions have been used to reduce non-attendance, with varying degree of success. A relatively new intervention, text messaging, has been shown to be as effective as telephone reminders in reducing non-attendance. However, no study has looked specifically at using text messaging reminders to reduce non-attendance in chronic disease care. ⋯ Text messaging was found to be as effective as telephone reminder in reducing non-attendance in patients who required long-term follow-up for their chronic illnesses in this study. It could be used as an alternative to conventional reminder systems.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Effect of antibiotic prescribing strategies and an information leaflet on longer-term reconsultation for acute lower respiratory tract infection.
Limited evidence suggests that delayed prescribing may influence future consultation behaviour. ⋯ Delayed antibiotic prescribing for LRTI appears effective in modifying reconsultation behaviour, particularly in those with a prior history of antibiotic prescription for LRTI.