The European journal of general practice
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Primary Health Care (PHC) was the cornerstone of the pandemic response. ⋯ Based on the lessons learnt, building further on the pandemic-accelerated digitalisation, emphasising on quality improvement and patient safety, ensuring providers' well-being, and empowering citizens through health literacy could be key in promoting PHC resilience.
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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common treatable risk factor for stroke. Screening for paroxysmal AF in general practice is difficult, but biomarkers might help improve screening strategies. ⋯ Natriuretic peptide levels and hsTnI are higher in patients with AF than without and may help select patients for AF screening, but larger trials are needed.
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Anecdotal reports suggest that missed diagnosis in general practice during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a drop in life-threatening events (LTEs) detected in hospitals. ⋯ Despite a surge in calls from adults with shortness of breath and/or chest discomfort during the COVID-19 pandemic, the accuracy of telephone triage for LTEs in OHS-PC remained similar to the pre-pandemic era. Improvement of telephone triage seems necessary in both periods.
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Rapid identification of effective treatments for use in the community during a pandemic is vital for the well-being of individuals and the sustainability of healthcare systems and society. Furthermore, identifying treatments that do not work reduces research wastage, spares people unnecessary side effects, rationalises the cost of purchasing and stockpiling medication, and reduces inappropriate medication use. Nevertheless, only a small minority of therapeutic trials for SARS-CoV-2 infections have been in primary care: most opened too late, struggled to recruit, and few produced actionable results. Participation in research is often limited by where one lives or receives health care, and trial participants may not represent those for whom the treatments are intended. ⋯ The PRINCIPLE and PANORAMIC trials represent models of innovation and inclusivity, and exemplify the potential of primary care to lead the way in addressing pressing global health challenges.
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This article focuses on potential strategies to support primary care researchers in working in partnership with the public and healthcare professionals. Partnership working can potentially to improve the relevance and usefulness of research and ensure better research and health outcomes. ⋯ We conclude by proposing three calls to actions to encourage researchers working in primary care to consider the multiple dimensions of power and move towards partnership working. First is to use participatory methods to improve the inclusivity of your research. Second is to include patients and the public in decisions about the design, delivery and development of research and its outcomes. Third is to address various systemic and institutional barriers which hinder partnership working.