The European journal of general practice
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Observational Study
Management and characteristics of patients suffering from Clostridiodes difficile infection in primary care.
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is rising and increases patient healthcare costs due to extended hospitalisation, tests and medications. Management of CDI in French primary care is poorly reported. ⋯ GPs provide relevant ambulatory care for mild primary episodes of CDI using oral metronidazole. Persistent diarrhoea despite an appropriate anti-Clostridiodes regimen should be interpreted as an early predictor of relapse.
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Healthcare complaints are an under utilised source of information for safety improvement, particularly in general practice settings. Within general practice in Ireland, complaints management is dependent on individual practice policies, with little standardisation nationally, impeding their use for safety improvement. There is a need to understand factors that contribute to unlocking the potential of complaints for safety improvement in general practice in Ireland and internationally. ⋯ There is a lot to be learned about how individuals experience complaints, however, this study adds to existing knowledge. The findings from this study can be used to tackle challenges facing complaints management in general practice, including the barriers to complaining for patients and the negative impacts of complaints on the staff, and can also help to build on positive aspects of complaints such as the desire for systemic change among interested parties.
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Obesity poses severe challenges for the health care system. GPs are in an advantageous position to contribute to preventing obesity by diagnosing patients and initiating treatment. Sporadic studies have shown that attitudes towards obesity management in primary care can have a major influence on treating patients successfully. ⋯ Depending on which (proto-)type a patient visits, different focuses and strategies are pursued for obesity management and doctor-patient communication. This results in different perspectives and chances of success about therapeutic measures.
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Task shifting is an approach to help address the shortage of healthcare workers through reallocating human resources but its impact on primary care is unclear. ⋯ Evidence suggests that allied healthcare workers such as pharmacists and nurses can potentially undertake substantially expanded roles to support physicians in primary care in response to the changing health service demand. Tasks include providing care to patients, independent prescribing, counselling and education, with comparable quality of care.