Managing dental emergencies in general practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 313-320
Author(s):  
Garrett M Mills ◽  
Mark D Gribben ◽  
Sarah EE Mills

Patients will often avoid seeking dental care until they are acutely unwell and may present to other medical providers of care, including GPs and Accident and Emergency departments. The number of patients seeing GPs for dental problems is increasing, with GPs seeing on average of between 30 and 48 patients with dental problems per year. Common dental presentations to primary care include pain, swelling, bleeding, dental injury, ulceration, and oral lesions. There are a number of clinical, ethical and legal considerations when triaging, managing and signposting such patients to appropriate care.

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Sturgiss ◽  
Kees van Boven

International datasets from general practice enable the comparison of how conditions are managed within consultations in different primary healthcare settings. The Australian Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) and TransHIS from the Netherlands collect in-consultation general practice data that have been used extensively to inform local policy and practice. Obesity is a global health issue with different countries applying varying approaches to management. The objective of the present paper is to compare the primary care management of obesity in Australia and the Netherlands using data collected from consultations. Despite the different prevalence in obesity in the two countries, the number of patients per 1000 patient-years seen with obesity is similar. Patients in Australia with obesity are referred to allied health practitioners more often than Dutch patients. Without quality general practice data, primary care researchers will not have data about the management of conditions within consultations. We use obesity to highlight the strengths of these general practice data sources and to compare their differences. What is known about the topic? Australia had one of the longest-running consecutive datasets about general practice activity in the world, but it has recently lost government funding. The Netherlands has a longitudinal general practice dataset of information collected within consultations since 1985. What does this paper add? We discuss the benefits of general practice-collected data in two countries. Using obesity as a case example, we compare management in general practice between Australia and the Netherlands. This type of analysis should start all international collaborations of primary care management of any health condition. Having a national general practice dataset allows international comparisons of the management of conditions with primary care. Without a current, quality general practice dataset, primary care researchers will not be able to partake in these kinds of comparison studies. What are the implications for practitioners? Australian primary care researchers and clinicians will be at a disadvantage in any international collaboration if they are unable to accurately describe current general practice management. The Netherlands has developed an impressive dataset that requires within-consultation data collection. These datasets allow for person-centred, symptom-specific, longitudinal understanding of general practice management. The possibilities for the quasi-experimental questions that can be answered with such a dataset are limitless. It is only with the ability to answer clinically driven questions that are relevant to primary care that the clinical care of patients can be measured, developed and improved.


Author(s):  
Esedulla M. OSMANOV

We consider the questions of psychiatry study as a crossdiscipline at the stage of general practice doctors postgraduate training. The relevance of the study of psychiatry as a crossdiscipline is that knowledge of psychiatry basics is necessary for any doctor, as most patients at the initial stage do not turn to psychiatrists, but most often to primary care specialists. Each doctor in his practical work is faced with various mental health disorders. He should know the basics of diagnosis of the most common psychiatric symptoms and syndromes. In modern conditions around the world there is an increase in the number of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders. If in the world on average about 15 % of people need psychiatric care, in Russia their number reaches 25 %. Despite certain distortions in the statistics of Russian Federal State Statistics Service (the growth of mental diseases with a simultaneous decrease in the number of patients taken under dispensary observation), it should be noted that up to 40 % of patients who turn to primary care specialists do not need any medical care, except for psychotherapeutic help.


1990 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 727-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila M. Curran ◽  
Ian M. Pullen

The practice of out-patient psychiatry has undergone a number of significant developments in recent years: the number of patients referred by general practitioners has steadily increased: a large number of psychiatrists are now seeing patients in the primary care setting and more patients are being seen on one occasion only.


2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (684) ◽  
pp. e507-e514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise H Hall ◽  
Judith Johnson ◽  
Ian Watt ◽  
Daryl B O’Connor

BackgroundGPs have particularly high levels of burnout and poor wellbeing. Although both are associated with poorer safety outcomes within secondary care, there have been no quantitative studies investigating this within primary care. Furthermore, little is known about how occupational demands, burnout and wellbeing, and patient safety are all associated.AimTo investigate whether occupational variables (demands and support) are associated with patient safety outcomes in general practice through their influence on GP burnout and wellbeing.Design and settingCross-sectional survey in the UK between March 2016 and August 2017.MethodA total of 232 practising GPs completed an online or paper survey measuring burnout, wellbeing, occupational demands and support, and patient safety.ResultsIn all, 93.8% of GPs were classed as likely to be suffering from a minor psychiatric disorder, 94.7% as suffering from mild (22.0%) or severe (72.7%) exhaustion, and 86.8% as having mild (37.9%) or severe (48.9%) disengagement. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses showed that spending a higher number of hours on administrative tasks and on call, and feeling less supported in their practice, was associated with lower wellbeing, which in turn was associated with a higher likelihood of having reported a near miss in the previous 3 months. A higher number of hours spent on administrative tasks, a higher number of patients seen per day, and feeling less supported were associated with higher burnout levels, which in turn was associated with worse perceptions of safety.ConclusionTo improve patient safety within general practice changes could be made at both practice and individual levels to promote a healthier work environment for staff and patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-197
Author(s):  
Sherry S. Zhou ◽  
Alan P. Baptist

Background: There has been a striking increase in electronic cigarette (EC) use in the United States. The beliefs and practices toward ECs among physicians are unknown. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate EC practice patterns among allergists, pulmonologists, and primary care physicians. Methods: An anonymous survey was sent to physicians. The survey contained 32 questions and addressed issues related to demographics, cessation counseling behaviors, personal use, and knowledge and beliefs about ECs. Statistical analysis was performed by using analysis of variance, the Pearson χ2 test, Fisher exact test, and logistic regression. Results: A total of 291 physicians completed the survey (222 primary care physicians, 33 pulmonologists, and 36 allergists) for a response rate of 46%. The allergists asked about tobacco cigarette use as frequently as did the pulmonologists and more than the primary care physicians (p < 0.001), but they rarely asked about EC use. The pulmonologists scored highest on self-reported knowledge on ECs, although all the groups answered <40% of the questions correctly. The allergists did not feel as comfortable about providing EC cessation counseling as did the pulmonologists and primary care physicians (p < 0.001). All three groups were equally unlikely to recommend ECs as a cessation tool for tobacco cigarette users. Conclusion: Allergists lacked knowledge and confidence in providing education and cessation counseling for EC users. As the number of patients who use these products continues to increase, there is an urgent need for all physicians to be comfortable and knowledgeable with counseling about ECs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. bjgp20X711053
Author(s):  
Luamar Dolfini ◽  
Yogesh Patel

BackgroundA considerable proportion of GPs’ workload is dermatological. It is important to investigate what common skin conditions encountered in primary care can be self-managed, in an effort to alleviate the burden on primary care.AimThe purpose of the audit was to identify the proportion of consultations that are dermatological in nature and analyse potential for self-management by patients.MethodData was collected using the patient electronic record system (EMIS) in general practice. A search was made for all consultations from the 17 April to 15 May 2019, which included all new presenting complaints that were dermatological in nature. The criteria for self-management included advising over the counter (OTC) medication or reassurance. On the other hand, a case was deemed not self-manageable if prescription only medication (POM) was prescribed or if a referral to dermatology was made.ResultsThere were a total of 2175 consultations, where 246 (11.31%) cases were dermatological. Of the 246, 80 cases (32.5%) could be self-managed. There were 46 different dermatological presenting complaints of which the 5 most common included: rash (51 cases), dermatitis (44 cases), acne vulgaris (13 cases), moles (12 cases), dry skin (11 cases). None of the acne or moles cases could be self-managed, whereas 23%, 68.2%, 72.7% of rashes, dermatitis, and dry skin cases, respectively, could be self-managed.ConclusionCertain dermatological conditions have more potential for self-management than others. Research into teledermatology as a means of addressing patient concern and providing clinical information is important in order to reduce unnecessary consultations.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongqing Xu ◽  
Jingchun Fan ◽  
Jingjing Ding ◽  
Xianzhen Feng ◽  
Shunyu Tao ◽  
...  

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