General practice computer systems already have a number of important safety features. However, there are problems in that general practitioners (GPs) have come to rely on hazard alerts when they are not foolproof. Furthermore, GPs do not know how to make best use of safety features on their systems. There are a number of solutions that could help to improve the safety features of general practi...

A survey of general practice in the London borough of Lambeth was analysed to discover how the distance from a patient's home to a medical facility affects the utilisation of that facility. It was shown that distance has a negative effect on utilisation for all population groups except men aged 15 to 64. The effect was especially marked for women, for the elderly, and for Social Classes III, IV...

BACKGROUND Managers in general practice perform a variety of roles, from purely administrative to higher-level strategic planning. There has been little research investigating in detail how they perform these roles and the problems that they encounter. The new General Medical Services (GMS) contract contains new management challenges and it is not clear how practices will meet these. AIM To i...

This article examines how courts are likely to apply evidence-based medicine, and particularly clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), in healthcare litigation involving quality-of-care and entitlement-to-benefits (coverage) claims. Exploring the "politics" of the current situation, it observes that, just as clinicians have been reluctant to use CPGs in practice, courts have been, and likely will ...

Background & Aims: Full-time Practice is one of the main objectives of Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) and a priority in Iran 5th development program. The aim of this study was to explore the perception of the chancellors at Iran universities of medical sciences, regarding the challenges, possible negative consequence and their suggestions for improving the implementati...

In West Africa, low adoption of agricultural innovations by farmers has been partly due to the complexity of the innovation structure or new knowledge beyond the farmers’ socio-economic adaptive capacities. Different attempts have been made to improve cocoa beans quality in Nigeria among which was the recommendation of ‘improved cultural practices’ or ‘best known practices’ (ICMP). This had rec...

BACKGROUND Financial incentives have been used for many years internationally to improve quality of care in general practice. The aim of this pilot study was to determine if offering general practitioners (GP) a small incentive payment per test would increase chlamydia testing in women aged 16 to 24 years, attending general practice. METHODS General practice clinics (n = 12) across Victoria, ...

Stress in general practice in the UK is a regular feature of everyday life according to a whole series of research studies over recent years. Increasing stress is a feature of society as a whole and general practitioners’ ability to deal with stress in themselves may also influence their ability to help others to do the same. Stress is an ambiguous word that is used on different occasions to de...

Heart failure (HF) is a syndrome characterized by high mortality, frequent hospitalization, reduced quality of life, and a complex therapeutic regimen. Knowledge about HF is accumulating so rapidly that individual clinicians may be unable to readily and adequately synthesize new information into effective strategies of care for patients with this syndrome. Trial data, though valuable, often do ...

This article explores various models and ideas for future sustainable general practice vocational training supervision in Australia. The general practitioner supervisor in the clinical practice setting is currently central to training the future general practice workforce. Finding ways to recruit, retain and motivate both new and experienced GP teachers is discussed, as is the creation of caree...