Aust Fam Physician
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Public health is the organised efforts of society to prevent disease, promote health and prolong life in the population. While the focus of general practice is on the care of individuals and families, general practitioners (GPs) have an essential role in promoting the health of the population. ⋯ Clinical general practice contributes to promoting population health. In addition, many GPs undertake work that extends beyond clinical care. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' (RACGP's) curriculum includes population health and the context of practice as one of its five domains. Core skills include the incorporation of a population health perspective into clinical practice, and leadership and advocacy in addressing the health needs of the community effectively and equitably.
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More than a trillion, mostly good, microbes live within our gastrointestinal tract and are responsible for vital metabolic, immune and nutritional functions. Dysbiosis, meaning a maladaptive imbalance of the microbiome, is associated with many common diseases and is a target for therapy. ⋯ As our knowledge of the microbiome increases, we are likely to better understand the complex interactions that cause disease, and develop new and more effective treatments for many common conditions.
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death in Australia. Electronic medical record (EMR)-based clinical decision support (CDS) tools have the potential to support absolute CVD risk (ACVDR) evaluation and management. The objective of this study was to test the acceptability and feasibility of the Treat to Target CVD (T3CVD), an EMR-based CDS tool, for the evaluation of ACVDR in general practice. ⋯ With further development, the T3CVD tool has the potential to improve ACVDR assessment and management in primary care.
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Pharmaceuticals play an important role in modern day healthcare, and prescribing is a very common activity in Australian general practice. However, there are significant harms associated with medicine use. Vocational training is a critical period in the development of clinical practice patterns for the future general practitioner (GP), including prescribing behaviour. The general practice supervisor, therefore, has a key role to play in educating registrars about rational prescribing. ⋯ Teaching rational prescribing should take on a patient-centred focus and incorporate an approach to managing uncertainty. Role-modelling of quality prescribing and use of guidelines is a strong influence on registrar behaviour. Specific strategies include random case analysis, audit and feedback of prescribing practice, topic tutorials and use of specific prescribing resources.
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The objective of this article is to investigate patients' attitudes to the use of chaperones for intimate physical examinations (IPEs) in a sample of Australian general practices. ⋯ Individualised discussion regarding chaperone use for IPEs is warranted, especially with patients seeing their usual GP.