General practitioners should identify risks opportunistically

Ear candling: should general practitioners recommend it?

Ear wax accumulation is one of the most common otologic conditions seen in primary care; removing ear wax is the most common ears, nose, and throat procedure carried out in the community. With the increasing use of and interest in complementary medicine in the United Kingdom1 and elsewhere, it is not surprising that ear candling has developed such a following. Ear candling involves placing a ho...

Should general practitioners order troponin tests?

Cardiac troponin I and T are the preferred biomarkers for assessing myocardial injury, and the timing of troponin testing is fundamental to its clinical utility. There are arguments for and against the use of troponin testing in the community, and the stance that general practitioners should never order a troponin test can be considered an oversimplification. GPs have a generally sufficient und...

How general practitioners assess risks in using new drugs.

;Situational' risk is an important determinant in the adoption of new pharmaceuticals. Not specifically the scientific risk of using the drug, but rather the risk the doctor perceives through his previous experience, both with similar treatments and with factors associated with the innovation such as its sponsor and mode of action. With this information the doctor determines to what degree furt...

Should general practitioners have access to paediatric cardiologists?

Should general practitioners call patients by their first names?

OBJECTIVE To assess the acceptability to patients of the use of patients' first names by doctors and doctors' first names by patients in general practice. DESIGN An administered questionnaire survey. SETTING 5 General practices in Lothian. PATIENTS 475 Patients consulting 30 general practitioners. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Response by patients to questionnaire on attitude to use of first nam...