Bmc Fam Pract
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Observational Study
Patients' experiences of the use of point-of-care ultrasound in general practice - a cross-sectional study.
The use of point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) performed by general practitioners (GPs) in primary care settings is increasing. Previous studies have focused on GP-reported outcomes and little is known about patients' perspectives on the use of POCUS technology within the general practice consultation. The purpose of this study was to examine patients' experiences with POCUS in general practice within the areas where GPs have indicated that POCUS affected aspects of the consultation. ⋯ We found that an examination including POCUS in general practice was a positive experience overall for the majority of patients. Future research should further explore reasons for patient confidence in POCUS and whether or not the reassuring value of POCUS is valid.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Increasing the completion rate of the advance directives in primary care setting - a randomized controlled trial.
The completion rate of Advance Directives (ADs) has been low. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of two interventions 1) active counseling sessions coupled with passive patient education pamphlets, and 2) patient education pamphlets alone, compared with 3) control group (usual care), in increasing the completion rates of ADs in the primary care setting. ⋯ This randomized controlled trial did not support the use of patient education pamphlets with or without active counseling sessions in increasing the completion of ADs in a primary care setting in Singapore. The optimal intervention strategy depends on each health system's context and resources, taking into consideration patients' profiles, which deserves further studies.
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Hypoglycaemia is a common and potentially avoidable adverse event in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). It can reduce quality of life, increase healthcare costs, and reduce treatment success. We investigated self-management issues associated with hypoglycaemia and self-identified causes of hypoglycaemia in these patients. ⋯ People with T2D experience various issues with self-managing their glucose levels. This study underlines the importance of daily routine and being able to adjust medication in relation to more physical activity or less food intake as well as the ability to reduce and manage stress to prevent hypoglycaemic events.
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High quality primary care is expected to be the basis of many health care systems. Expectations on primary care are rising as societies age and the burden of chronic disease grows. To stimulate adherence to guidelines and quality improvement, audit and feedback to professionals is often used, but the effects vary. Even with carefully designed audit and feedback practices, barriers related to contextual conditions may prevent quality improvement efforts. The purpose of this study was to explore how professionals and health centre managers in Swedish primary care experience existing forms of audit and feedback, and conditions and barriers for quality improvement, and to explore views on the future use of clinical performance data for quality improvement. ⋯ Professionals and health centre managers did not experience audit and feedback practices and existing conditions in Swedish primary care as supportive of quality improvement work. From a professional perspective, audit and feedback with a focus on clinical measures, as well as autonomy for professionals, are necessary to create motivation and space for quality improvement work. Such initiatives also need to be supported by quality improvement efforts at the system (macro) level, which favour transformation to a primary care based system.
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Six percent of patients are allergic to penicillin according to their medical records. While this designation protects a small number of truly allergic patients from serious reactions, those who are incorrectly labelled may be denied access to recommended first line treatment for many infections. Removal of incorrect penicillin allergy may have positive health consequences for the individual and the general population. We aimed to explore primary care physicians' (PCPs) and patients' views and understanding of penicillin allergy with a focus on clinical management of infections in the face of a penicillin allergy record. ⋯ PCPs and patients appear insufficiently aware of potential harms associated with incorrect penicillin allergy records. Some of the problems experienced by PCPs could be reduced by ensuring the details of newly diagnosed reactions to antibiotics are clearly documented. In order for PCPs to overturn more incorrect penicillin records through appropriate use of allergy services, more information and training about these services will be needed.