Evidence based medicine has had an increasing impact on primary care over the last few years. In the UK it has influenced the development of guidelines and quality standards for clinical practice and the allocation of resources for drug treatments and other interventions. It has informed the thinking around patient involvement in decision making with the concept of evidence based patient choice...

OBJECTIVE To assess the result of the care provided by an interdisciplinary team on the control of hypertension. METHODS In a Health Unit, 88 patients were treated by an interdisciplinary team for 12 months. Visits to the physician or nurse occurred every one to three months, and to the nutritionist whenever necessary. Educational lectures were delivered regularly. Total cholesterol and fasti...

Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a multifaceted condition affecting up to 40% of the population. AR leads to nasal symptoms of congestion, rhinorrhea, sneezing, and nasal itching. It is often associated with ocular symptoms of itching/burning, tearing/watering and redness. AR has a negative impact on patients’ quality of life (QoL) due to both nasal and ocular symptoms. Market research show...

Pharmacogenetic testing refers to a type of genetic test to predict a patient's likelihood to experience an adverse event or not respond to a given drug. Despite revision to several labels of commonly prescribed drugs regarding the impact of genetic variation, the use of this testing has been limited in many settings due to a number of factors. In the primary care setting, the limited office ti...

The aging of the populations in Western countries entails an increase in chronic diseases, which becomes evident with the triad of age, comorbidities and polymedication. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease represents one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality, with a prevalence in Spain of 10.2% in the population aged 40 to 80. In recent years, it has come to be defined not o...

Primary care physicians treating HIV-infected patients should not be afraid or reluctant to engage in medication-assisted treatment for substance dependence. Effective medications are available for many types of substance addictions, including buprenorphine for opioid dependence, disulfiram for cocaine dependence, bupropion for methamphetamine dependence, and naltrexone for alcohol dependence. ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the use of spirometry in family practice, internal medicine, and pediatric outpatient settings. METHODS Data were collected from 45 outpatient offices in the central Pennsylvania area via phone survey that asked a set of four questions: 1) Do you have spirometry in your office? 2) Do you use spirometry for asthma patients? 3) In what situation do you use spirometry for?...