The European journal of general practice
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Did aetiology matter in illness duration and complications in patients presenting in primary care with acute respiratory tract infections early in the COVID-19 pandemic: An observational study in nine countries.
Despite considerable research into COVID-19 sequelae, little is known about differences in illness duration and complications in patients presenting in primary care with symptoms of acute respiratory tract infections (RTI) that are and are not attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection. ⋯ Early in the pandemic, the proportion of patients not feeling fully recovered by 28 days was similar between SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative patients presenting in primary care with RTI symptoms, but it took somewhat longer for SARS-CoV-2 patients to feel fully recovered. More research is needed on predictors of a complicated course in RTI.
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Multicenter Study
Preventing cardiovascular disease in at-risk patients: Results of a pilot behavioural health programme in general practice.
The 'High-Risk Prevention Programme' (HRPP) involved a six-week health behaviour change programme based in general practices and aimed to address cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in disadvantaged Irish communities. ⋯ The HRPP was a much-needed pilot intervention, and positive results were seen in both GPN and HPP arms, especially with regards to weight loss, exercise, and dietary improvements. Future definitive trials of the HRPP are likely to be effective and acceptable in terms of combatting these issues among high-risk patients.
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Patients provide a unique, irreplaceable, and essential perspective in evaluating patient safety. The suite of Patient Reported Experiences and Outcomes of Safety in Primary Care (PREOS-PC) tools are a notable exception to the scarcity of patient-reported patient safety measures. Full evaluation of their performance has only been attempted for the English version, thereby limiting its international applicability. ⋯ The Spanish and Catalan versions of the PREOS-PC-Compact are broadly valid and reliable tools to measure patient safety in Spanish primary care centres; confirmation of lower-than-expected test-rest reliability merits further examination .
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The use of generic drugs is a way for healthcare systems to reduce costs, particularly in ambulatory care. Several studies suggest that the prescriber's speciality is associated with the use of generic drugs, and that substitutable drugs prescribed by General Practitioners (GPs) are more often generic, but this association has never been studied in France. In the French legislative context, except in rare situations, all substitutable drugs prescribed should be dispensed in generic form. ⋯ Substitutable drugs prescribed by French private GPs are more often dispensed in generic form than those from other private ambulatory specialties. To understand this result and optimise the use of generic drugs in outpatient settings, we need to study the different stages of drug use, from prescription by the physician to dispensing by the pharmacist and acceptance by the patient.
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Observational Study
Monitoring COVID-19 in Belgian general practice: A tool for syndromic surveillance based on electronic health records.
COVID-19 may initially manifest as flu-like symptoms. As such, general practitioners (GPs) will likely to play an important role in monitoring the pandemic through syndromic surveillance. ⋯ The syndromic surveillance tool for COVID-19 in primary care provides rapidly available data useful in all phases of the COVID-19 pandemic to support data-driven decision-making. Potential enhancements were identified for a prospective surveillance tool.