Bmc Fam Pract
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A survey of Western Australia's general practitioners' (GPs') knowledge and practices relating to genital chlamydia infection was conducted in mid-2005, prior to a multi-media campaign which encouraged 15-24 year olds to seek chlamydia testing through their general practitioner (GP). The survey aimed to raise GPs' awareness of chlamydia in preparation for the campaign and to establish a baseline measure of their chlamydia-related knowledge and practices. ⋯ Australia is currently piloting chlamydia screening. For this to be successful, GPs will need to maintain current knowledge and clinical suspicion about chlamydia, and be comfortable in asking and receiving information about sexual behaviours. Only then will GPs have a significant impact on curbing Australia's ever-increasing rates of chlamydia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Acceptability and effectiveness of opportunistic referral of smokers to telephone cessation advice from a nurse: a randomised trial in Australian general practice.
GPs often lack time to provide intensive cessation advice for patients who smoke. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of opportunistic referral of smokers by their GP for telephone cessation counselling by a trained nurse. ⋯ Acceptance of opportunistic referral for nurse delivered telephone cessation advice was low. This trial did not demonstrate improved quit rates following the intervention. Future research efforts might better focus support for those patients who are motivated to quit. AUSTRALIAN CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY NUMBER: ACTRN012607000091404.
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Comparative Study
Call-duration and triage decisions in out of hours cooperatives with and without the use of an expert system.
Cooperatives delivering out of hours care in the Netherlands are hesitant about the use of expert systems during triage. Apart from the extra costs, cooperatives are not sure that quality of triage is sufficiently enhanced by these systems and believe that call duration will be prolonged drastically. No figures about the influence of the use of an expert system during triage on call duration and triage decisions in out of hours care in the Netherlands are available. ⋯ The differences in call times between a cooperative using an expert system and a cooperative not using an expert system are small; 0.4 - 1.0 min. Differences in triage decisions were found, but it is not proven that these can be contributed to the use of an expert system.