Doctor articles from March 2006

Doctor archives from March 2006

Patients asked to judge GPs' clinical skills.
March 7, 2006... Revalidation Oldham GP Dr Anita Sharma has refused to take part in a GMC pilot which is testing the use of patient questionnaires for revalidation, because they ask patients to comment on GPs' clinical practice. Dr Sharma, a solo GP,...

PCTs block referrals to hit budget targets.(UK practice management rules)
March 7, 2006... Rationing Cathy Comerford PCTs ARE using referral management schemes to ration care in order to meet financial pressures, say GP leaders. Patients are being put at risk as some non-urgent referrals are being stalled for the maximum...

Hewitt bullish on GPs' hours.
March 7, 2006... White paper Better organisation of staff would help practices increase access without extra resources, ministers have told Doctor. Enhanced services in the updated contract, which come into force in April, will drive initiatives on...

GPs face tough call over inhaled insulin.
March 7, 2006... Massive demand expected but no guidance from NICE or PCTs Adam Legge GPs could soon be under huge pressure to prescribe costly inhaled insulin, as many PCTs plan to duck funding decisions on the technology. Exubera, the first inhaled...

'Buck up business plans or lose out'.
March 7, 2006... Privatisation GPs must be meticulous in preparing business plans if they are to compete with private providers, warns the GPC. The committee said it had anecdotal evidence that some PCOs were biased towards alternative provider medical...

GPs refute Cox-2 risk claims.
March 7, 2006... Prescribing GP rheumatology specialists have played down claims that celecoxib (Celebrex) more than doubles the risk of myocardial infarction. A meta-analysis of four placebo-controlled trials of the drug, involving 4,422 patients,...

IT glitch disrupts routine child jabs.
March 7, 2006... Immunisation A stop-gap IT monitoring system may have jeopardised routine vaccinations across London and Essex. Up to 3,000 children may have missed vaccinations during the last year, after a new child health monitoring IT system was...

New DESs include lifestyle screening.(directed enhanced service)
March 7, 2006... Contract 2006-07 Derren Hayes A new directed enhanced service (DES) in Scotland will pay GPs for screening patients for unhealthy lifestyle risk factors. A much clearer picture is starting to emerge of how enhanced services will be...

Judge tells PCT to halt private provider deal.
March 14, 2006... APMS Cathy Comerford A High Court judge has ordered a PCT to suspend signing its contract with a private provider to run a practice. UnitedHealth Europe (UHE), part of the giant US United-Health Group, won a bid to take over the...

CVD screening plans 'won't stretch GPs'.
March 14, 2006... Cardiovascular A combination of opportunistic screening and invitations will form the new primary care cardiovascular (CVD) screening programme planned for next year. As revealed by Doctor last month, the National Screening Committee...

'Speak up now or be bulldozed'.
March 14, 2006... Dr Elizabeth Barrett wants GPs to be more vocal in their opposition to government plans for private providers' entry into primary care. The Nottinghamshire GP, pictured, lost out to a large corporation in a bid to run a deprived practice,...

Commissioning cash still not guaranteed.(practice-based commissioning payments for general practitioners)
March 14, 2006... Enhanced services Cathy Comerford GPs must get a binding local contract on practice-based commissioning (PBC) savings or face losing them, warn contract negotiators. GPC chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum said GPs should not rely on national...

Controlled drug scrips 'flawed'.
March 14, 2006... Prescribing Legislation to tighten rules on controlled drugs has actually made the system less safe, according to a GP IT specialist. New checks brought in by the Government after the Shipman Inquiry allowed prescriptions for...

NHS funding crisis forces GPs into debt.
March 14, 2006... Practices denied enhanced service pay as 3% cutback looms Amena Saleem & Cathy Comerford GPs ARE facing delays in enhanced service payments and some practices have been forced to take out overdrafts, as the NHS funding crisis bites....

Pregnancy complications linked to higher CVD risk.
March 21, 2006... Cardiology Pregnancy complications have been identified as risk factors for cardiovascular disease in research presented to the American College of Cardiology. Researchers found complications, such as gestational diabetes, postpartum...

PMS GPs left to face local contract battles.
March 21, 2006... Government tells PCTs to renegotiate contracts to match GMS Cathy Comerford and Amena Saleem PMS GPs will have to rely on LMCs to fight their corner in the face of a Government squeeze on PMS funding, GP leaders have admitted....

High Court judge orders review of practice takeover.
March 21, 2006... APMS A judicial review will go ahead into how private provider UnitedHealth Europe won a contract to run a GP practice in a deprived area of Derbyshire. High Court judge Mr Justice Davis ordered a review last week after a patient...

Botox injections to be regulated.(UK Healthcare Commission rules)(Brief article)
March 21, 2006... Cosmetic procedures GPs offering botox injections should consider additional training in injection technique ahead of new regulations due this autumn. Later this year the Healthcare Commission will require anyone offering a cosmetic...

Don't provide service unless paid, GPs told.
March 21, 2006... Enhanced services The GPC is advising practices not to provide enhanced services in the next financial year if funding is not guaranteed by their PCT. Spending on enhanced services for 2006-07 is being frozen at current levels under...

GPs hit out at hype over 'wonder drug'.
March 21, 2006... Prescribing Adam Legge GPs are facing a flood of patient enquiries after media reports hailed a high-dose statin as a 'wonder drug'. GP cardiology specialists have criticised the claims and said the trial on which they were based had...

Jabs 'will run out' in a flu pandemic.
March 21, 2006... Immunisation Adam Legge exclusive The Government has blown a hole in preparations for pandemic flu after missing its chance to extend next winter's vaccination programme, warn immunisation specialists. The DoH has been under pressure...

Warning on VAT loophole.
March 21, 2006... Dispensing Dispensing GPs have been warned not to exploit a loop-hole allowing them to claim VAT costs twice. NHS Employers has told the Dispensing Doctors Association (DDA) that a number of dispensing doctors who had recently...

GPs braced for pain as hospitals cut jobs.
March 28, 2006... Workload fears as Chancellor fails to rescue overspent trusts Amena Saleem GPs HAVE accused the Government of abandoning the NHS after last week's Budget failed to include any extra money to bail out cash-strapped trusts. LMCs fear...

New ADHD drugs get NICE approval.
March 28, 2006... Prescribing NICE HAS approved two additional drugs for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. Atomoxetine and dexamfetamine have joined methylphenidate as options for ADHD on the NHS. The...

LMCs say: 'Act now or lose everything'.(changes in British medical practices)
March 28, 2006... White paper Practices have no room for 'complacency or tardiness' if they are to survive changes set in motion by the primary care white paper, LMCs have warned. By far the 'most challenging area' facing GPs is competition from...

Donepezil 'beneficial' in severe Alzheimer's.
March 28, 2006... Dementia The Alzheimer's drug donepezil can improve cognition and preserve function in patients with severe disease, say researchers. They said the drug's efficacy in severe dementia had not previously been assessed and was...

MMR gaps spark measles outbreak.
March 28, 2006... Public health Joanna Wallis GPs HAVE been warned that conditions are right to expect an increase in measles cases, following a serious outbreak in Yorkshire. Public health officials in Doncaster have reported 76 suspected cases of...

NHS lead knocks referral centres.
March 28, 2006... Choice Referral management schemes are contrary to the aims of the Government's patient choice initiative, say the Government's own IT specialists. The BMA recently condemned PCTs for using the schemes to delay non-urgent referrals in...

Private firms to 'cherry-pick'.(worry general practitioners will move away from deprived areas)(Brief article)
March 28, 2006... APMS Private providers will abandon primary care provision in deprived areas in favour of more lucrative practices, warn academics. The primary care white paper says the private sector will initially only be invited to bid for NHS...

Promise of increased IT choice 'falls short'.
March 28, 2006... Technology Cathy Comerford GPs have welcomed proposals to offer practices a choice of IT systems, but say they still fall short of the promise written into the GP contract. Health Minister Lord Warner has said that practices will be...