The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Gout is one of the most common inflammatory joint diseases in the UK managed by GPs. The recent (2017) guideline of the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) changed the recommendation for urate-lowering therapy (ULT) and now advises it after the first episode of gout, whereas it previously recommended after the second one. Moreover, the BSR now also recommends screening and management of risk factors of gout. ⋯ Most patients diagnosed with a first gout attack have risk factors of gout and require their management. Overall, allopurinol is prescribed in a fifth of patients, which may be related to patients' preferences, strict adherence to lifestyle modification only, or presence of contraindications to allopurinol. This requires, however, further assessment.
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Obesity is classified as a body mass index (BMI) >30kg/m2 and contributes to poor health outcomes in the UK. In 2017-18, obesity resulted in 711,000 hospital admissions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends GPs educate patients who are obese and refer them to exercise programmes. Our practice, Brierley Park Medical Centre, (NHS Mansfield and Ashfield CCG) is in a 4th decile most deprived region of North Nottinghamshire (UK) and serves a population of 9,288. The local exercise referral scheme (ERS) allows clinicians to refer patients to the local gym for a reduced fee at the point of access. ⋯ The interventions that we have designed and implemented have increased the number of referrals to ERS and may be applied to similar primary care settings.
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To meet the challenges of an ageing population, the updated 2017/18 NHS GP contract requires primary care providers to use evidence-based frailty identification tools to risk-stratify all patients aged >65 years. Those patients flagged as moderately or severely frail should be clinically reviewed and if severe frailty is confirmed, providers have been asked to consider offering relevant interventions, with the overall aim of enabling these patients to live well for longer. However, there is limited knowledge about how this frailty contractual requirement is being operationalised in primary care. ⋯ The study findings will inform the further development of NHS England policy on the frailty contractual requirement for primary care providers.
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Laboratory testing is an integral diagnostic tool, contributing to 70% of diagnoses in the NHS today. Its use has been steadily increasing despite estimates that ≤40% of blood tests ordered are unnecessary. Understanding blood-testing patterns is a fundamental step to tackling overuse. ⋯ Routine general practice data revealed important trends in blood testing. Trends uncovered can inform innovative and targeted solutions to reduce unnecessary blood testing.
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The expansion of the primary care workforce by employing a varied range of practitioners ('skill mix') is a key component of the General Practice Forward View (GPFV). The extent of skill mix change and where that has occurred has been examined using publicly available practice level workforce data. However, such data does not provide information regarding specific motivating factors behind employment decisions for individual practices nor future workforce plans. ⋯ Although data collection and analysis are ongoing, the results of the survey provide novel insights into the underlying motivating factors behind employment decisions, specifically for new roles such as pharmacists, PAs and paramedics.