Bmc Fam Pract
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Informal medicine, entailing undocumented medical advice, has been described in diverse medical disciplines and geographical regions. We assessed the current prevalence and characteristics of informal medical consulting, the reasons physicians provide it, and their attitudes toward it. ⋯ Our survey of primary care physicians shows very frequent informal medical consulting, despite high dissatisfaction with such, and an interest in receiving guidelines on this practice.
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Observational Study
Interprofessional primary care during COVID-19: a survey of the provider perspective.
Interprofessional primary care (IPC) teams provide comprehensive and coordinated care and are ideally equipped to support those populations most at risk of adverse health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including older adults, and patients with chronic physical and mental health conditions. There has been little focus on the experiences of healthcare teams and no studies have examined IPC practice during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the study was to describe the state of interprofessional health provider practice within IPC teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ IPC teams are rapidly shifting their practice to supporting their patients during the pandemic. A surge in mental health issues has been seen and is expected to continue to increase in response to COVID-19. Understanding early experiences can help plan for future pandemic waves.
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Humanwide was precision health embedded in primary care aiming to leverage high-tech and high-touch medicine to promote wellness, predict and prevent illness, and tailor treatment to individual medical and psychosocial needs. ⋯ This is the first report of implementation of a multi-component precision health model embedded in team-based primary care. We found acceptance from both patients and providers; however, feasibility barriers must be overcome to enable broad spread and sustainability. We found that barriers to implementation of precision health in a team-based primary care clinic are mundane and straightforward, though not necessarily easy to overcome. Future implementation endeavors should invest in basics: education, workflow, and reflection/evaluation. Strengthening fundamentals will enable healthcare systems to more nimbly accept the responsibility of meeting patients at the crossroads of innovative science and routinized clinical systems.
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Multicenter Study
Mindfulness in primary care healthcare and teaching professionals and its relationship with stress at work: a multicentric cross-sectional study.
Work stress is a common problem among the health personnel of the Spanish National Health System. The objective of this paper is to assess the state of mindfulness among Spanish primary care providers and to evaluate its potential relationship with work stress and basic labor and sociodemographic characteristics. ⋯ Levels of mindfulness in primary care health providers were in line with those levels observed in other groups of health professionals. Half of all of the primary care providers suffered from a high degree of stress. Although weak, inverse relationships were observed between levels of mindfulness and stress at work, with lower values of stress at work among those who practiced mindfulness.
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In high-income countries with a low HIV prevalence, primary care doctors are likely the first point of medical contact for people at high risk of HIV. One of the key factors for successful implementation of preventive measures is the cooperation of primary healthcare providers. Hong Kong's population mostly seek primary care in the private sectors. Our study evaluated the involvement of private primary healthcare providers in HIV prevention and care. ⋯ Overall, most private primary care doctors in Hong Kong have no or low involvement in HIV prevention and care. However, most were willing and experienced in providing general preventive services, such as HIV testing and advice.