Background
There has been substantial effort and activity in regards to pandemic
planning, preparedness and response, mainly in the realm of public
health. However, general practitioners and other primary care
providers are important players in the health response to a pandemic.
Objective
To discuss the importance of general practice preparedness for
managing respiratory infection outbreaks and to provide a model for
the general practice response.
Discussion
Pandemic planning and preparedness in general practice is ultimately
a crucial risk management exercise, the cornerstone of which is sound
infection control. As planning will be significantly aided by, and should
extend to, other respiratory outbreaks, we propose a framework for
managing outbreaks of respiratory infections with a focus on planned,
practised and habitual infection control measures, and a stepwise
response according to the extent and severity of the outbreak.
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