The European journal of general practice
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The new guideline on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention, issued by the European Society of Cardiology was endorsed by 10 other societies, including Wonca Europe. It advices on how to reduce the cardiovascular (CV) risk in the population and attributes an important role to the general practitioner (GP). ⋯ The new guideline gives room for a personalized approach and emphasizes that CV risk estimation and counselling need regular follow-up. We highlight the recommendations that most caught our eye and comment on the challenges for general practice.
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Primary healthcare (PHC) is essential for equitable access and cost-effective healthcare. This makes PHC a key factor in the global strategy for universal health coverage (UHC). Implementing PHC requires an understanding of the health system under prevailing circumstances, but for most countries, no data are available. ⋯ Priorities were (i) advocacy for community-based PHC to policymakers, including the importance of coordination of healthcare at the community level, and UHC to respond to the needs of populations; (ii) collaboration with universities to include PHC as a core component of every medical curriculum; (iii) collaboration with communities to improve public understanding of PHC; (iv) engagement with the private sector to focus on PHC and UHC.
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High levels of stigma towards patients with substance use disorder (SUD) have been found in health professionals and medical students. ⋯ Residents in general practice had a good capacity to diagnose SUD correctly but on average expressed negative attitudes toward people with SUD. More SUD teaching seems to help in reducing stigmatizing attitudes.
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General practitioners (GPs) play a crucial role in diagnosing coeliac disease (CD). However, data on GP management of (suspected) CD patients is sparse. ⋯ The different views of GPs on how to diagnose and monitor CD could be a basis for further research to improve CD detection rate and CD care.