This brand-new title Practical General Practice Nursing has been developed to support the professional development of the General Practice Nurse, in particular the 'early career' practitioner. This book provides a contemporary and practical approach to understanding the breadth and depth of this unique community nursing role. With the content developed by expert practitioners and nurse educators from across the UK this truly comprehensive book covers a wide range of clinical and professional topics. Presented in an easy to read format, which is illustrated in full colour, this book represents an excellent resource to support the practice nurse in the delivery of evidence-based care. Marion Welsh and Sue Brooks, both of whom have wealth of experience in working as General Practice Nurses, have edited this first edition, whose key features include: - Comprehensive coverage of evidence-based person-centred care - Practical application for contemporary practice - Perspectives and policies from all four countries of the UK

"Practical Ethics for General Practice, second edition, is essential reading for GPs, trainees, community nurses, those interested in bioethics, and medical students." --Book Jacket.

British Medical Association Book Awards 2009 - First Prize Winner, Primary Care Category Evidence-Based Diagnosis in Primary Care provides guidance on diagnosis in general practice, from the patient’s first presentation with a symptom to the final establishment of a diagnosis or referral for further investigation. The book is divided into two parts: • Symptoms; which details the steps necessary to reach a provisional diagnosis when a patient presents; and • Disorders; in which the more detailed assessment of that initial diagnosis is described. This is the first book to be written about diagnosis in primary care that attempts to base its guidance on the research evidence. Enough information is provided on each symptom, or condition, to decide on the pre-test probability of each possible disorder, and how the symptoms, signs and investigations alter those probabilities to allow a conclusion to be reached about the most likely diagnosis. Evidence-Based Diagnosis in Primary Care also explains the principles of evidence-based diagnosis – with special emphasis on the issues raised by attempting an evidence-based approach in primary care – and clearly demonstrates the power, and the difficulties, of an evidence-based approach. Many chapters also feature ‘red flags’ – elements of the history or examination that should alert the practitioner to the possibility of serious disease, which is vital for general practice.

General Practice Today explores the GP consultation in the context of external 'stressors' and 'helpers' that doctors use to make best clinical decisions. Over the last 30 years there has been a move towards mandatory training on legal aspects, risk scores and guidance. Additionally, with widespread access to IT there has been a huge growth in the information doctors need to know and manage. Yet today’s GP has never been more time-poor or under so much pressure. All these outside considerations can seem challenging and remote for the doctor sat with their patient; yet in today’s reality they have never been more important. This book offers insight into the practical impact and importance of these external factors. It offers advice on everything from law, technology and time management to mental health issues, ethics, religion and culture, exploring how to determine which issues are relevant to each individual consultation. Packing each chapter with realistic examples, author Jane Wilcock draws on her own extensive experience to help GPs make considered, contextual decisions that enhance the health and well-being of their patients. This book is essential reading for any General Practitioner, allied health care practitioner or trainee preparing to practice in our complex modern world.

Patients with chronic pain present a unique set of challenges to the primary care clinician. In Chronic Pain: A Primary Care Guide to Practical Management, leading pain specialist Dawn A. Marcus, MD, offers practical, clear, and succinct evidence-based approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of the myriad of painful conditions clinicians see in their offices every day, such as headache, back pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and abdominal pain. Using an engaging case-based approach, the author simplifies the often complex care of patients with chronic pain by providing practical strategies for targeting important symptoms, establishing realistic treatment goals, and efficiently and effectively managing patients. Clinic-friendly instructional sheets (questionnaires, diaries, and chart documentation tools) can be copied directly from the book and used for both education and the monitoring of therapeutic compliance and response. Importantly, Dr. Marcus offers all of these practical applications in the context of the busy office practice. The author also presents invaluable guidelines for prescribing medications and nonmedicative therapies, and provides descriptions, illustrations, and diagnostic criteria to help identify specific, commonly occurring syndromes that produce chronic pain. Additional features include sections on opioid therapy and on chronic pain in special patient groups such as children and adolescents, pregnant women, and geriatrics. Also included is a value-added compact disk containing a companion ebook version of the book for downloading and use in the reader's computer or PDA, and continuing medical education (CME) questions that provide the opportunity to acquire 5 AMA/PRA category 1 CME credits from the American Society of Contemporary Medicine and Surgery. Comprehensive and case-oriented, Chronic Pain: A Primary Care Guide to Practical Management offers busy health care providers a practice-friendly approach to assessing and managing the often complex and time-consuming problems of chronic pain.

Physician adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) has become a national priority. It is said that EMRs have the potential to greatly improve patient care, to provide the data needed for more effective population management and quality assurance of both an individual practice’s patients and well as patients of large health care systems, and the potential to create efficiencies that allow physicians to provide this improved care at a far lower cost than at present. There is currently a strong U.S. government push for physicians to adopt EMR technology, with the Obama administration emphasizing the use of EMRs as an important part of the future of health care and urging widespread adoption of this technology by 2014. This timely book for the primary care community offers a concise and easy to read guide for implementing an EMR system. Organized in six sections, this invaluable title details the general state of the EMR landscape, covering the government’s incentive program, promises and pitfalls of EMR technology, issues related to standardization and the range of EMR vendors from which a provider can choose. Importantly, chapter two provides a detailed and highly instructional account of the experiences that a range of primary care providers have had in implementing EMR systems. Chapter three discusses how to effectively choose an EMR system, while chapters four and five cover all of the vital pre-implementation and implementation issues in establishing an EMR system in the primary care environment. Finally, chapter six discusses how to optimize and maintain a new EMR system to achieve the full cost savings desired. Concise, direct, but above all honest in recognizing the challenges in choosing and implementing an electronic health record in primary care, Electronic Medical Records: A Practical Guide for Primary Care has been written with the busy primary care physician in mind.

Advances in medical, biomedical and health services research have reduced the level of uncertainty in clinical practice. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) complement this progress by establishing standards of care backed by strong scientific evidence. CPGs are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care. These statements are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and costs of alternative care options. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust examines the current state of clinical practice guidelines and how they can be improved to enhance healthcare quality and patient outcomes. Clinical practice guidelines now are ubiquitous in our healthcare system. The Guidelines International Network (GIN) database currently lists more than 3,700 guidelines from 39 countries. Developing guidelines presents a number of challenges including lack of transparent methodological practices, difficulty reconciling conflicting guidelines, and conflicts of interest. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust explores questions surrounding the quality of CPG development processes and the establishment of standards. It proposes eight standards for developing trustworthy clinical practice guidelines emphasizing transparency; management of conflict of interest ; systematic review-guideline development intersection; establishing evidence foundations for and rating strength of guideline recommendations; articulation of recommendations; external review; and updating. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust shows how clinical practice guidelines can enhance clinician and patient decision-making by translating complex scientific research findings into recommendations for clinical practice that are relevant to the individual patient encounter, instead of implementing a one size fits all approach to patient care. This book contains information directly related to the work of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), as well as various Congressional staff and policymakers. It is a vital resource for medical specialty societies, disease advocacy groups, health professionals, private and international organizations that develop or use clinical practice guidelines, consumers, clinicians, and payers.