The New Zealand medical journal
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The management of a regional hospital in New Zealand is proposing to co-locate a primary care facility within the local emergency department (ED). This article reviews the reasons for this proposal which include overcrowding of ED, so-called 'inappropriate' attendees, and provision of 24-hour primary medical services for Dunedin City. While the proposal seems to have some intuitive merit, the attribution of overcrowding in ED to attendance by GP-type patients is simplistic; it does not address how patients are processed within ED or how they are transferred to wards later if required ('access block'). This article also discusses some other unresolved issues including the implications of recent funding arrangements in primary care and risk management.
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To describe the sore throat management practices by New Zealand general practitioners (GPs) and compare the rate of sore throat presentation over time. ⋯ Sore throat continues to be a common symptom that GPs manage in their work. Ethnic differences may have a part to play in how GPs manage sore throat. More research is needed to discover those factors that would encourage a greater proportion at-risk 5-14 year old children to attend their GP with sore throat.
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Editorial Comment
Marketing communications and obesity: a view from the dark side.