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Feature
Psychosis risk
GPs rarely encounter patients with psychosis, but more commonly see patients with psychotic symptoms that do not meet diagnostic criteria for psychotic disorder, such as hearing voices or having paranoid beliefs. One-third of these patients at risk will go on to develop psychosis within 3 years. Findings in this new study show that some GPs were not familiar with the concept of being at-risk of developing psychosis. Also, when patients met criteria for a more common mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety, GPs would not always screen for psychotic symptoms. In the podcast and video, Prof. Stanley Zammit and Daniela Strelchuk explain ways that GPs can screen for psychotic symptoms.
Highlights
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Recent Features
Media depictions of remote consulting throughout COVID-19
This new study by Oxford academics, led by Professor Trisha Greenhalgh, looked at newspaper coverage of the shift to remote consultations. It found that media depictions of remote GP consultations in the early months of the pandemic linked GPs with progress, efficiency, and safety; whereas media reports in more recent months have emphasised missed diagnoses, challenges to the therapeutic relationship, and digital inequalities. Perhaps rightly, the press have questioned why a policy originally introduced for infection control was then made permanent. Listen to the podcast interview with Dr Gilly Mroz and Professor Trisha Greenhalgh.
Reducing missed appointments
Missed appointments, or DNAs ('did not attends'), come at a great cost to general practice. While most view DNAs as a patient problem, this study, supported by the Health Foundation, highlights the appointment system itself as an integral cause of DNAs. This study shows the impact of quality improvement coaching, including sharing appointment system data, among practices. The findings illustrate how structural change to the appointment system can produce sustained reductions in DNA rates. Listen to the full podcast interview with Dr Tom Margham.
Association of non-malignant diseases with thrombocytosis
Previous research shows 11% of people with high platelet count in primary care are diagnosed with cancer in the following year. But what about diagnosing the 89%? A new study from the same team at University of Exeter flags up likely conditions. They found that inflammatory bowel disease, iron-deficiency anaemia, rheumatoid arthritis, COPD, and giant cell arteritis were more likely in patients with thrombocytosis than in those with a normal platelet count.