Doctor articles from April 2005

Doctor archives from April 2005

'Our premises are far too cramped'.(sole practitioner physician )(Brief Article)
April 12, 2005... Single-hander Dr Anne-Marie May blames the new contract for ruining her plans to expand her practice and set up a clinic for musculoskeletal work. She planned to re-house her practice in a new building along with neighbouring GPs at the Church...

Fear of regulation overload.(Brief Article)
April 12, 2005... Quality The Government is in danger of chasing its own tail over medical regulation, says GMC president Prof Sir Graeme Catto. Speaking at a conference on poor performance at the Royal Society of Medicine last week, Prof Catto said there...

GP practice expansions wrecked.(general practitioners)
April 12, 2005... GPs starved of premises funds as PCTs struggle with deficits Christina Golding GPs PLANNING to expand their practices and take on more services are being refused funds by PCTs because rules under the new contract have changed the way...

Chaperone rules 'risk GP-patient rapport'.
April 12, 2005... Chaperones Cathy Comerford Imposing guidelines on chaperoning in general practice would cause stress and make patients question their trust in GPs, researchers warn. Researchers interviewing GPs about their management of menstrual...

QOF pay rise more than expected.(Quality and Outcomes Framework )
April 12, 2005... Quality Quality points have gone up [pounds sterling]2.10 higher than expected and GPs qualify for seniority pay a year earlier under the Government's revised statement of financial entitlements for 2005. Quality points will be worth...

GP leaders reject revalidation exam.(general practitioners )(Brief Article)
April 12, 2005... Quality GP leaders have warned against the use of exams and tests for revalidation and have publicly disagreed with the GMC over its role in identifying poorly-performing doctors. In a joint statement released on Friday, RCGP chairman Dr...

DoH probes trusts for lost premises funding.(department of health)
April 12, 2005... GPC fears [pounds sterling]108m premises cash has been spent on PCT debt Christina Golding The Government is checking up on PCTs in England to find out where [pounds sterling]108m set aside for GP premises has gone. This follows GPC...

Quote; unquote.
April 12, 2005... the week in quotes 'It is extraordinary that there are stricter controls on hospital specialists prescribing than on GPs.' The Commons Health Committee on possible new controls on GP prescribing News, page 9 'It's not that [salaried GPs]...

Weight-loss drug works well in tests.(rimonabant,)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2005... Obesity The experimental drug rimonabant, which reduces the urge to eat, can reduce body weight, waist circumference and cardiovascular risk factors, say Belgian researchers. One year of treatment with the cannabinoid receptor blocker...

Now GMC asks public to help revalidate GPs.(General Medical Council )
April 19, 2005... Revalidation controversy hots up as GMC reveals plans to use patient questionnaires and defies the GPC on knowledge tests Cathy Comerford The GMC is planning to increase the input patients have in regulating doctors, including a say on...

Death of MMR creator who 'saved thousands'.
April 19, 2005... Obituary The microbiologist who developed vaccines including MMR, chickenpox, hepatitis A and B, pneumonia, meningitis and influenza, has died. Dr Maurice Hilleman, who died last Monday aged 85, developed about three dozen vaccines over...

Daily steroids 'not needed' in asthma.
April 19, 2005... Asthma Steve Ford Mild persistent asthma can be successfully treated with short courses of corticosteroids when needed, rather than daily therapy, say US researchers. They say many patients with asthma already use steroids...

GPs face long wait for QOF payouts.(Brief Article)
April 19, 2005... Disputes delay cash until June Christina Golding GPs are facing a wait until June for their quality achievement payments because of late submissions, disputes and confusion among PCOs as to when they are legally required to pay out....

Writing's on the wall for GP scrawl.(Brief Article)
April 19, 2005... Handwriting In a massive rebuttal of public stereotypes, doctors write legibly, do not have a 'God complex' and are not motivated by greed. In fact, a US handwriting expert says the penmanship of nine out of ten doctors worldwide is quite...

'Act on patient poll findings'.(Brief Article)
April 19, 2005... GMS contract The head of one of Europe's biggest patient advocate organisations wants the contract changed to reward GPs for acting on patients' views. Picker Institute chief executive Angela Coulter said the GMS contract should give...

Doc, I think I've got a bad case of EastEnders.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2005... Television Ever thought that some of your patients are a touch over-dramatic? Or thought you were seeing a rise in presentations of an illness that featured on television recently? You're not wrong, according to a survey of 200 GPs and...

Drugs' side-effect frequency to be included in data.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2005... Drug information Drug insert information will in future include information on the frequency of side-effects, according to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. Diane Leakey, MHRA head of communications, said lack of...

Inhaled insulin widens choice for management of diabetes.
April 26, 2005... Working practices GPs could be managing some diabetes patients with short-acting inhaled insulin within a year, say researchers. The experimental inhaled insulin Exubera is currently being considered for approval by the European Medicines...

DoH slip-up leads to aspiration pay fears.(Department of Health)
April 26, 2005... GPs and accountants got a fright last week as yet another quality and outcomes framework controversy unfolded Christina Golding The Government has admitted that it may have to change its Statement Of Financial Entitlements because of...

E-records are failing throughout Europe.
April 26, 2005... Technology Cathy Comerford Electronic patient records are failing in Europe because IT systems cannot communicate with each other, a study has found. Problems with privacy, funding and data standards are obstructing implementation of...

More evidence against daily asthma steroids.
April 26, 2005... Prescribing UK study results further support giving asthma patients the choice of taking inhaled corticosteroids intermittently rather than daily. Patients with mild-to-moderate asthma who did not take daily steroids had acceptable...

QOF results to be published on web.
April 26, 2005... League tables one step closer as every practice's results posted Christina Golding QOF results for every individual practice will be posted on a public website by a Government agency this summer. The move paves the way for a league...

Rise in GPs' tax burden.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2005... GP finances GPs have seen their pay rise by a quarter in real terms under Labour, but have also seen their tax burden rise substantially. According to figures released in Parliament, GPs' intended average net income has gone from [pounds...