The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Social prescribing connects patients to resources or activities to meet their non-medical needs. In the UK, it is often implemented in primary care. In the social prescribing pathway, patients are directed to link workers to identify suitable solutions for their needs such as art workshops or welfare benefit guidance. Social prescribing marks a notable transition from traditional medical treatments to more comprehensive strategies focusing on holistic health and wellbeing strategies. Insights from patient experiences can improve the development of social prescribing to better meet their needs. This understanding can aid in improving the delivery and outcomes of social prescribing. ⋯ Patients might experience lasting advantages from social prescribing if it aligns with their needs and expectations. Results highlighted the importance of matching social prescribing referral with patients' readiness to engage. Therefore, it is recommended that healthcare professionals evaluate patient suitability prior to beginning a social prescribing referral.
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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder, for which there are effective pharmacological treatments that improve symptoms and reduce complications. Guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommend that primary care practitioners prescribe medication for adult ADHD under shared-care agreements with Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS). However, provision remains uneven, with some practitioners reporting a lack of support. ⋯ Elements supporting appropriate shared-care prescribing of ADHD medication via primary care are not universally available in England. Coordinated approaches are needed to address these gaps.
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Most people with type 2 diabetes receive treatment in primary care by GPs who are not specialised in diabetes. Thus, it is important to uncover the most essential information needs regarding type 2 diabetes in general practice. ⋯ This systematic review provides GPs, policymakers, and researchers with a hierarchical model of information and educational needs for GPs, and an evidence map showing gaps in the current literature. Information needs about clinical guidelines and reasons for referral to specialised care overlapped with needs for more specific information.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Education to improve timeliness of shingles diagnosis: Cluster RCT and qualitative study.
Herpes zoster (shingles) is normally diagnosed clinically. Timely diagnosis is important so that antiviral treatment can be started soon after rash onset. ⋯ Our educational intervention did not improve the timely assessment of patients with shingles. This may be the result of poor intervention engagement.
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Generalist approaches can help address several challenges facing today's primary care. However, GPs report insufficient support to deliver advanced generalist medicine (AGM) in daily practice, struggling within a healthcare system that imposes strict adherence to single-disease focused guidelines. ⋯ Our findings have implications for tackling the general practice workforce crisis, highlighting that solutions targeting individual problems will not suffice by themselves. By making visible the grey areas of everyday general practice, we describe the changes needed to target tensions as described by the GPs in this study to ultimately enable, enhance and make visible the complex work of generalist medicine.