The European journal of general practice
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General practitioners (GPs) are important providers of palliative home care (PHC). To deliver adequate palliative care, cooperation with specialised PHC teams is necessary. Specialised PHC is a type of care for severely ill patients by specialised providers. Little is known about the involvement of German GPs in specialised PHC. ⋯ In general, GPs are satisfied with the quality of care provided by specialised PHC teams but GPs do not always perceive cooperation as optimal. Involvement of GPs in specialised PHC needs to be improved.
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The introduction of portable and pocket ultrasound scanners has potentiated the use of ultrasound in primary care, whose many applications have been studied, analyzed and collected in the literature. However, its use is heterogeneous in Europe and there is a lack of guidelines on the necessary training and skills. ⋯ Training family physicians in ultrasound may consider seven main applications and indications. The proposed training plan establishes five different levels of competencies until skill in real clinical practice is achieved.
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The general practitioner (GP) is central to managing patients with cancer, whose numbers are increasing worldwide. The GP's involvement requires better coordination between involved partners, in particular oncologists and GPs. ⋯ Remote participation of GPs in MCMs is feasible and may result in adapting oncological and haematological management for patients. This patient-centred approach requires a specific organisation that, when implemented, satisfies the needs of all participants.
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Patients with severe mental illness (SMI) or receiving treatment with antipsychotics (APs) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular risk management (CVRM) increasingly depends on general practitioners (GPs) because of the shift of mental healthcare from secondary to primary care and the surge of off-label AP prescriptions. Nevertheless, the uptake of patients with SMI/APs in CVRM programmes in Dutch primary care is low. ⋯ This study displays a range of barriers and facilitators anticipated by GPs. These indicate the preconditions required to remove barriers and facilitate GPs, namely adequate recommendations in practice guidelines, improved consultation opportunities with psychiatrists, practical advice to support patient adherence and incentives for practices in deprived areas.
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Long-term use of antidepressant drugs (AD), much longer than recommended by guidelines, in nursing homes (NH) is common. NH home residents may have a relatively higher risk of adverse events. Moreover, in an NH setting nursing staff and relatives are intensively involved in the decision-making process. In many countries, General Practitioners' (GPs) provide care for residents in NHs. Little is known about GPs' perspectives on discontinuation of long-term AD in NH residents. ⋯ Discontinuation of long-term AD in NHs is a complex process for GPs. More evidence and attention to the role nursing staff and relatives play are needed to better guide the discontinuation of AD in older NH patients.