Doctor articles from June 2006

Doctor archives from June 2006

Beta agonist warnings 'not applicable to UK'.
June 13, 2006... Asthma Long-acting beta agonists (LABAs) should be withdrawn, say US researchers, who estimate they raise the risk of severe asthma exacerbations 2.6-fold. But UK GP asthma experts say the conclusions, based on a meta-analysis, fail...

Fluoxetine gets licence for use in over-eights.
June 13, 2006... Depression The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has recommended that the licence for fluoxetine should now include children over the age of eight, and adolescents, suffering from moderate to severe depression. GP prescribing and mental...

GMC's future is up for debate.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Regulation GPs at this week's LMCs conference will debate the role of the GMC as the profession awaits the verdict from the Chief Medical Officer's review of the body, due this summer. GP leaders hope the debate will send a message to...

GPs demand 'valid' policy consultation.
June 13, 2006... White paper The primary care white paper consultation was an expensive sham and a wasted opportunity, GPs will hear, shortly before Health Minister Lord Warner addresses this year's LMCs conference on Thursday afternoon. It is the first...

GPs propose boycott on commissioning.
June 13, 2006... LMCs conference Cathy Comerford GPs will this week consider whether to boycott the 'poisoned chalice' of practice-based commissioning. Delegates at the annual LMCs conference in London will vote on a motion that conference has no...

Improved heart risk check for minorities.
June 13, 2006... Cardiology Adam Legge Accurately assessing heart disease risk in Britain's black and minority ethnic groups has been made easier by a new GP-devised online calculator. Serious shortfalls in Framingham risk calculators, in terms of...

RCGP warned: steer clear of star ratings.
June 13, 2006... Doctor survey shows 80% reject practice grading as 'a crazy idea' Amena Saleem GPs have sent a clear message that they will oppose any move towards practice star-ratings. In an exclusive Doctor survey of almost 600 GPs, doctors have...

Technical hitches delay e-prescribing.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Technology THE ROLLOUT of electronic prescribing could be delayed because of technical problems with NHS IT systems, GPs have warned. At present, 449 GP practices use the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) and around 1.5 million...

Catto urges GPs to help rescue GMC.
June 20, 2006... LMCs conference Amena Saleem GMC president Prof Sir Graeme Catto has admitted that the regulator has made mistakes under his leadership and still 'irritates more doctors than it needs to'. He told GPs at last week's LMCs conference...

Keep private firms out, say GPs.
June 20, 2006... APMS GPs have called for private providers to be kept out of general practice unless there are no existing alternatives. 'APMS has gone beyond its original remit', GPC member Dr George Rae told the annual LMCs conference. GPs...

'Government sidelines GPs'.
June 20, 2006... Reforms GPC chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum has attacked the Government's handling of health policy, warning it not to marginalise family doctors but to work with them to improve the NHS. In a keynote speech to the annual LMCs conference,...

Core GP roles 'will not go out to tender'.
June 20, 2006... Alternative providers Steve Ford PCTs will not be allowed to contract alternative providers to expand existing services for GPs' registered lists, under new Government rules on practice-based commissioning. Merseyside GP Dr James...

Courts back private takeover of practice.
June 20, 2006... But judge also rules that PCTs must consult public in future Cathy Comerford LOCAL health campaigners in Derbyshire have lost their fight to block a contract awarded to private company United Healthcare Europe (UHE) to run a practice...

'Boots can undercut us through loss leaders'.
June 20, 2006... Case study DR Sheila Neogi (right) is part of the eight-practice Vict-oria commissioning group in south London. The group has been engaged in practice-based commissioning for the past nine months and is bidding to commission expanded...

NPfIT must do more to win over GPs, warns watchdog.
June 20, 2006... Technology Winning the support of GPs and other healthcare staff remains a key challenge for the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT), according to the National Audit Office. Ensuring PCTs play a full role in implementing IT systems...

NICE backs newer hypertension drugs.
June 27, 2006... Final recommendations sideline diuretics and beta-blockers Adam Legge NICE WILL publish final guidance on hypertension drugs tomorrow, recommending ACE-inhibitors and calcium-channel blockers as first-line choices. However, GPs who...

Anti-obesity drug 'could benefit one in five patients'.
June 27, 2006... Prescribing Weight-loss drug rimonabant (Acomplia) will be available in the UK next month for the treatment of obesity, after it gained European regulatory approval. The drug will be indicated for treatment of obesity in patients with...

New MRCGP exam likely for next year.(training)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Training In the future, trainee GPs will take a three-part examination, including a practical test of clinical skills, under the new MRCGP assessment, which has just been finalised. The new form of assessment, designed by the RCGP,...

Clowns make pregnancy a laughing matter.
June 27, 2006... Fertility Send in the clowns and they will improve the chances of a woman conceiving after fertility treatment - that is the bizarre finding from a study by Israeli researchers. Dr Shevach Friedler, of the Assaf Harofeh Medical Centre...

Colorectal guidelines 'should change'.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Gastroenterology All patients aged 45 or over with new-onset rectal bleeding should undergo urgent referral to exclude colorectal cancer, irrespective of the presence of other symptoms, according to UK researchers. NICE guidelines...

Deanery withdraws 29 GP trainee posts.
June 27, 2006... Workforce Amena Saleem Junior doctors across London have had their GP training posts withdrawn just weeks before they were due to start their new jobs. In letters from the London Deanery, the doctors were told that a lack of funding...

GPs face more spot checks over access.
June 27, 2006... Access Cathy Comerford GP leaders have responded angrily to suggestions by the Government that they are fiddling access targets. Health Minister Lord Norman Warner last week announced a new system of spot checks on practices from next...

Private firm inks practice deal.
June 27, 2006... APMS A second Government-brokered deal has been signed allowing a private company to run a traditional GP practice. Private healthcare company Mercury Health has announced that it is to open an NHS practice and walk-in centre in east...