A decade of Australian general practice activity 2001-02 to 2010-11. General practice series no. 30Britt H, Miller GC, Charles J, Henderson J, Bayram C, Valenti L, Harrison C, Pan Y, O?Halloran J, Zhang C, Chambers T & Fahridin SSydney University PressISBN: 9781920899875This report highlights changes in general practice activity in Australia over the most recent decade (April 2001 to March 2011) of the BEACH program, a national cross-sectional study of general practice activity. Over this time 9801 participating GPs provided details of 981,000 GP-patient encounters. The report highlights changes that have occurred in the characteristics of general practitioners and the patients they see, the problems managed, and the treatments provided. Changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity, smoking status and alcohol use, are also described for subsamples of more than 30,000 adults and 3,000 children each year.This report is a companion to the annual report, General practice activity in Australia 2010-11.

The book provides a summary of results from the 13th year of the BEACH program, a continuing national study of general practice activity in Australia. From April 2010 to March 2011, 958 general practitioners recorded details about 95,800 GP-patient encounters, at which patients presented 149,005 reasons for encounter and 146,141 problems were managed. For an 'average' 100 problems managed, GPs recorded: 69 medications (including 56 prescribed, seven supplied to the patient and six advised for over-the-counter purchase); 11 procedures; 23 clinical treatments (advice and counselling); six referrals to specialists and three to allied health services; orders for 30 pathology tests and six imaging tests. A subsample study of more than 31,000 patients suggests prevalence of measured risk factors in the attending adult (18 years and over) patient population were: obese - 27 per cent; overweight - 35 per cent; daily smoking - 15 per cent; at-risk alcohol consumption - 25 per cent. One in five people in the attending population had at least two of these risk factors. A companion publication, A Decade of Australian General Practice Activity 2001-02 to 2010-11 is also available.

This report highlights changes in general practice activity in Australia over the decade from April 2002 to March 2012 of the BEACH program, a national cross-sectional study of general practice activity. Over this time 9,802 GPs provided details of 980,200 GP-patient encounters. The report highlights changes that have occurred over the decade in the characteristics of GPs and the patients they see, the problems managed and the treatments provided. Changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity, smoking status and alcohol use are also described for sub-samples of more than 30,000 adult patients each year. This report is a companion to the annual report General Practice Activity in Australia 2011-12.

Guest edited by David Hunter, this issue of Rheumatic Disease Clinics provides an update on the latest diagnosis, treatment and long-term management strategies for osteoarthritis. Topics to be covered include pathogenesis, joint mechanics, imaging of osteoarthritis, muscle and disease genesis, disease modification, and surgical strategies for treatment.

This report highlights changes in general practice activity in Australia over the most recent decade (April 2004 to March 2014) of the BEACH program, a continuous national cross-sectional study of general practice activity. Over this time 9,731 general practitioners (GPs) provided details of 973,100 GP-patient encounters. The report highlights changes that have occurred over the decade in the characteristics of GPs and the patients they see, the problems managed, and the treatments provided. Changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity, smoking status and alcohol use are also described for subsamples of more than 30,000 adult patients each year. This report is a companion to the annual report, General practice activity in Australia 2012-13.

This report highlights changes in general practice activity in Australia over the most recent decade (April 2003 to March 2013) of the BEACH program, a national cross-sectional study of general practice activity. Over this time 9,772 GPs provided details of 977,200 GP-patient encounters. The report highlights changes that have occurred over the decade in the characteristics of GPs and the patients they see, the problems managed, and the treatments provided. Changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity, smoking status and alcohol use are also described for subsamples of more than 30,000 adult patients each year.

This book reports changes in GP ordering of imaging tests in Australia from 2002-03 to 2011-12, and evaluates alignment between guidelines and recent GP test ordering for selected problems. Over the decade, 9,802 GPs participated in BEACH, providing details of 980,200 GP-patient encounters. The likelihood of GPs ordering imaging in the management of a problem increased over time. In recent practice, at least one imaging test was ordered at 9% of encounters, at a rate of 10 imaging tests per 100 encounters. Diagnostic radiology was the most commonly ordered type of imaging test, but the order rate decreased over time, with a shift toward orders for ultrasound, CT and MRI, which all significantly increased. Eight selected problems accounted for one-third of all imaging orders. Imaging ordering behaviour suggests broad compliance with published guidelines in the management of osteoarthritis, shoulder problems, bursitis/tendonitis/synovitis, abdominal pain and other musculoskeletal injuries. Current ordering patterns for knee problems and some sprains/strains have potential for improvement. The ordering pattern for new presentations of back problems was inconsistent with all established guidelines for management of back problems.