The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Missed appointments are common in primary care, contributing to reduced clinical capacity. NHS England has estimated that there are 7.2 million missed general practice appointments annually, at a cost of £216 million. Reducing these numbers is important for an efficient primary care sector. ⋯ Forward booking time in days is the best predictor of practice DNA rates. Sharing appointment data produced a significant reduction in missed appointments, and behaviour change interventions with patients had a modest additional impact; in contrast, introducing structural change to the appointment system effectively reduced DNA rates. To reduce non-attendance, it appears that the appointment system needs to change, not the patient.
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Initiation of statins for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) should be based on CVD risk estimates, but their use is suboptimal. ⋯ When a QRISK2 score is coded, prescribing is more consistent with guidelines. With no QRISK2 score, prescribing is mainly based on total cholesterol. Using QRISK2 is associated with statin prescribing that is more likely to benefit patients. Promoting the routine CVD risk estimation is essential to optimise decision making.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Influence of polypharmacy on patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a retrospective analysis on adverse outcomes in the TOPCAT trial.
Polypharmacy is common in heart failure (HF), whereas its effect on adverse outcomes in patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is unclear. ⋯ A high prevalence of high medication burden at baseline was reported in patients with HFpEF. The high medication burden might increase the risk of hospital readmission, but not the mortality.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Prostate-specific antigen testing and opportunistic prostate cancer screening: a cohort study in England, 1998-2017.
Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer- related death. Interpreting the results from trials of screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is complex in terms of defining optimal prostate cancer screening policy. ⋯ A substantial number of men in England opt in to opportunistic prostate cancer screening, despite uncertainty regarding its efficacy and harms. The rate of opportunistic prostate cancer screening in the population is likely to have contaminated the CAP trial, making it difficult to interpret the results.
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Doctors can be victim-survivors of domestic abuse (DA), but how this impacts their work and wellbeing, and whether they face barriers to seeking help is not well understood. ⋯ Domestic abuse impacts on the work and wellbeing of female doctors, who face unique barriers to help seeking and reporting DA. An online peer support group can help to break the sense of isolation, but specialised confidential support services are also required to help doctors experiencing DA.