From the perspective of a family physician and Medical Officer of Health involved in the Walkerton, Ont, water-borne disaster, I know there are lessons to be learned and issues to be understood that will aid physicians in their daily practice of family medicine. I also hope that this editorial will help readers get a better understanding of public health and our changing environment (both polit...

One of the consequences of upper motor neuron disease is the development of spasticity, classically defined as a “velocitydependent increase in muscle tone and hyper-excitability of the stretch reflex.” Although alternative definitions have been recently proposed that define spasticity as a “disordered sensorimotor control,” in this study, we focused on the classic definition underlying velocit...

The provision of unproven stem cell–based treatments by clinics in countries around the world—a phenomenon that has been called stem cell tourism— is a growing trend with implications for both the practice of family medicine and the health and safety of the Canadian public.1* Canadians place trust in their family physicians, who have a central role in continuity of care. This empowers Canadian ...

In this issue of the JABFP Eaton et all describe differences in self-reported cholesterol testing, counseling, and treatment among US medical specialists in 1991. Data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS)2 showed that family physicians (23.5 percent) and cardiologists (13.1 percent) reported performing cholesterol testing much less often during annual health examinations tha...

Over the past 20 years there has been a statistically significant trend toward fewer family physicians identifying as being in solo practice. Further study to determine the reasons for this decline and its impact on access to care will be critical because rural areas are more dependent on solo practitioners.

This issue of the journal is filled with useful information for practicing family physicians. Several articles introduce new ideas for family physicians to use in the care of their patients, whereas other articles cover new approaches to old problems. Several studies report on procedures performed by family physicians: battlefield acupuncture, colonoscopy, and ultrasound. Some unique alternativ...

OBJECTIVE To describe care partnerships between family physicians and rheumatologists. METHODS A random sample (20%, n = 478) of family physicians was mailed a questionnaire, asking if there was at least 1 particular rheumatologist to whom the physician tended to refer patients. If the answer was affirmative, the physician would be considered as having a "care partnership" with that rheumatol...

I think it is safe to say that most family physicians have received gifts from patients, even if it was only a box of chocolates, an apple pie, or a bottle of wine. Although only 20% of physicians say they have received gifts,1 it would not surprise me if the opposite were true. Indeed, it is unusual for a family physician not to have accepted gifts of some kind. In fact, several codes of ethic...

INTRODUCTION Over the last decade, the use of medical marijuana has expanded dramatically; it is now permitted in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Our study of family physicians in Colorado is the first to gather information about physician attitudes toward this evolving practice. METHODS We distributed an anonymous web-based electronic survey to the 1727 members of the Colorado Academ...

Croatia started implementing the national programs for early breast cancer detection in 2006, early detection of colon cancer and early detection of cervical cancer. A possible way to improve the adherence of the women to the screening on breast cancer could be by transferring the responsibility for the program implementation from the public health institutes to family physicians. The Project: ...