Aust Fam Physician
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The field of travel medicine is undergoing rapid change. Vaccination recommendations change with disease outbreaks, emerging infections and the availability of new vaccines. The following information on typhoid and cholera vaccination should be used in conjunction with up to date information and individualised for each traveller. It is emphasised that vaccination forms just part of the pretravel health consultation and does not replace the need for appropriate preventive advice and information.
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Pneumococcal infection is a major health problem in both developed and developing countries. Adult patients with a range of chronic illnesses are at increased risk of both morbidity and mortality from this condition. ⋯ However, case control and cohort studies have established the vaccine's effectiveness in patients with a number of chronic illnesses as well as those undergoing splenectomy. The vaccine is safe and should be more widely used by practitioners with patients who meet the current NHMRC guidelines.
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Increasing exposure of undergraduate medical students to rural practice is a key component of the national effort in Australia to redress the rural workforce shortage. For this exposure to be successful, willing cooperation of current rural general practitioners is essential. To date there has been no formal assessment of rural general practitioners' attitudes to having undergraduate medical students attached to their practice. ⋯ The results suggest that rural general practitioners are willing to have students attached to their practice for periods between one to two weeks, providing they receive quality assurance points, and to a lesser extent, financial reimbursement and academic status.
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To explore the attitudes of general practitioners to the changing roles in the coordination of complex patient care. ⋯ In the context of the introduction of managed care in Australia, this survey highlights the potential for GPs to take on a range of roles and responsibilities under these arrangements.