Australian Family Physician December - The guts of it
Vol 38, (12) 945 - 1010
The theme for the December issue of AFP is The guts of it. This
month's articles include GORD, Update in inflammatory bowel disease, IBS
or intolerance?, Irritable bowel syndrome – the role of
complementary medicines in treatment & Laparoscopic adjustable gastric
banding –
effects, side effects and challenges
The guts of it
Rachel Lee
Society and the English language afford ‘guts’ almost
independent sentient being status.
Connecting care for life
Justin Beilby
Connecting care was one of the four reform themes that
emerged during the deliberations of the National Health and
Hospital Reform Commission (NHH RC).
Letters to the editor
The opinions expressed by correspondents in this column are in no way endorsed by either the Editors or The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
GORD
Graeme Miller, Janice Charles
Between April 2006 and March 2008 in the BEACH (Bettering the
Evaluation and Care of Health) program, gastro-oesophageal
reflux disease was managed by general practitioners at a rate
of 2.2 per 100 encounters, which extrapolates to about 2.3
million times per year nationally.
Update in inflammatory bowel disease
Graham Morrison, Belinda Headon, Peter Gibson
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a common disease in
Australia and frequently encountered in primary care. Major
developments in investigation and management have taken place.
IBS or intolerance?
Terry Bolin
MD(NSW), BS(Syd), FRACP, FRCP(Lond), FRCP(Edin),
DCH(Lond), is Conjoint Associate Professor of Medicine,
The University of New South Wales, and Consultant
Emeritus, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South
Wales.
Irritable bowel syndrome - The role of complementary medicines in treatment
Marie Pirotta
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gut problem that
interferes with many people’s enjoyment of life.
Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding
Wendy Brown, Anna Korin, Paul Burton, Paul E O'Brien
The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band is a useful tool in the
treatment of severe obesity. It is a safe and durably effective
procedure, however, optimal results depend upon the patient
participating in a process of lifelong care.
Abnormal Pap tests after the HPV vaccine
Stella Heley, Julia Brotherton
Worldwide, cervical cancer affects 500 000 women and causes
275 000 deaths annually.
The role of micronutrients in pregnancy
Chi Eung Danforn Lim, Ming Fong Yii, Nga Chong Lisa Cheng, Yiu Kwan Maria Kwan
The antenatal shared care model has become increasingly popular among Australian women as the preferred mode of pregnancy care. General practitioners are often asked by their pregnant women patients about the nutrients needed during pregnancy.
Influencing behaviour change in general practice - Part 2 – motivational interviewing approaches
Moira G Sim, Toni Wain, Eric Khong
Behaviour change toward achieving a healthy lifestyle is important
for all Australians, and general practitioners have a key role to play in
assisting patients to make these changes.
Clinical Challenge
Questions for this month's clinical challenge are based on articles in this issue. The style and scope of questions is in keeping with the MCQ of the College Fellowship exam. The quiz is endorsed by the RACGP Quality Assurance and Continuing Professional Development Program and has been allocated 4 CPD points per issue.
AFP in Practice
AFP in Practice questions are designed to get you started in a small group learning (SGL) activity in your practice or with colleagues. Requirements to earn 40 Category 1 CPD points for a SGL activity are: minimum of four and a maximum of 10 people, minimum of 8 hours of discussion in a year, and at least two GPs. Vertical integration - Reducing the load on GP teachers
General practice - The 'ground central' of rural health care
Peter Rischbieth
It's not often that Murray Bridge in rural South Australia is
called upon to host visiting dignitaries.
Book reviews
Books reviewed this month are Every Patient Tells a Story Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis by Lisa Sanders, Restoring Balance by Steven Sommer, Skills Training in Communication and Related Topics Part 2: Communicating with patients, colleagues, and communities by Ellen J Belzer and Contraception – Healthy Choices A Contraceptive Clinic in a Book (2nd edition) by Family Planning NSW.
GP interest in teaching junior doctors - Does practice location, size and infrastructure matter?
Jennifer Thomson, Belinda Allan, Katrina Anderson, Marjan Kljakovic
With the influx of Australian medical graduates into the workforce,
new clinical prevocational training rotations within general practice
need to be developed.
Detecting breast cancer in a general practice - Like finding needles in a haystack?
Andrew Beattie
Breast cancer contributes the largest burden of cancer related
disease in Australian women.
Are general practice networks 'ready' for clinical data management?
Jill Kelly, Peter Schattner, Jane Sims
Australian general practice networks (GPN) are required to report
on national performance indicators under the Australian Government
Department of Health and Ageing's National Quality Performance
System (NQPS).