- Discrepancies in low-value practices across cardiovascular disease prevention guidelines. A narrative review. [Review]
- CONCLUSIONS: While some guidelines align, others exhibit clear discrepancies, illustrating the uncertainty of the scientific evidence and differing interpretations. Until robust evidence from high-quality clinical trials becomes available, clinicians should exercise caution regarding certain screening procedures and therapeutic interventions in CVD prevention within general practice.
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- Distinguishing bipolar disorder from unipolar depression in general practice: A systematic review. [Systematic Review]
- CONCLUSIONS: This review identified a combination of clinical and historical features of depressive episodes that help distinguish between bipolar disorder and unipolar depression in general practice. Identifying these features through a structured clinical interview, as a complement to existing screening tools such as the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, may help reduce diagnostic delays and improve outcomes.
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- Barriers for general practitioners in post-stroke follow-up within a fragmented healthcare system in Sweden - a focus group study. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: The perspectives of GPs revealed structural problems at different levels in the health care system as well as difficulties in handling medication adherence indicating a need for improvement. GPs touched on solutions including increasing the number of GPs, education and improved referrals from hospital to primary care.
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- Potential and pitfalls of personal reference intervals in general practice: A focus group and case vignette study among Dutch general practitioners. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals arguments both supporting and opposing PeRIs. Importantly, GPs perceived added value for diagnostic decision-making. We advise accompanying implementation of PeRI with education on responsibilities and underlying algorithms. In this way, PeRIs can contribute to behavioural change that may lead to better and more meaningful, personalised care.
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- Diagnostic accuracy and management of suspected acute otitis media: A multi-continental survey of primary care physicians using tympanic membrane images in clinical cases. [Multicenter Study]
- CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic accuracy for suspected AOM was generally low among primary care physicians, with wide variation across countries. Antibiotics were frequently prescribed even in the absence of AOM. This underscores the need for improved diagnostic education to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use globally.
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- Are practice nurse-led patient consultations acceptable for the general population in Germany? Results from a population-based survey. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Acceptability of PNLC among the German general population is high. Trust in PNs' professional and communication skills, and younger age, are associated with increased willingness for PNLC, while treatment in SHP showed a negative association. Our findings may inform implementation of PNLC in other countries.
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- Understanding competencies to manage multimorbidity in primary care: A focus group study with professionals and patients. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Successful implementation of PC-IC requires more than disease-specific expertise. It depends on individual competencies, effective interprofessional collaboration, and organisational conditions that support coordinated, person-centred care. Ongoing professional development may help strengthen these competencies in primary care.
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- Beyond clinical care: A qualitative study on the leadership role of general practitioners in dutch interprofessional care for older adults. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: GPs enact informal leadership primarily through responsibility and accountability for continuity and oversight rather than through strategic or explicitly shared leadership practices. Because collaboration is generally perceived as adequate, motivation to further develop team processes appears limited. More strategic elements, such as shared goal setting and proactive team learning, are less developed. Strengthening awareness of leadership roles within interprofessional teams may support more balanced responsibility-sharing and enhance care for frail older adults.
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- Beyond diagnosis in general practice: Predictive processing, a novel framework for persistent physical symptoms. [Review]
- CONCLUSIONS: For the general practitioner, this framework provides a coherent scientific rationale for explanation, continuity of care, expectation management, cognitive approaches and graded activity. These interventions emerge as core clinical tools, not consolation, when "nothing is found".
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- A new way of thinking? Exploring professionals' perspectives on the sustainability of interprofessional team meetings: A focus group study. [Journal Article]Eur J Gen Pract. 2026 Dec; 32(1):2708526.EJ
- CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that nurturing team dynamics, tailoring organisational structures, and embedding ongoing evaluation are essential beyond patient care. This may need a new way of thinking to enhance the sustainability of interprofessional team meetings in primary care.
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- Variations in general practitioners' referrals to low-value MRI examinations in Norway: A nationwide register-based study. [Journal Article]Eur J Gen Pract. 2026 Dec; 32(1):2706207.EJ
- CONCLUSIONS: Referral rates varied markedly between GPs. Specialist-certified GPs had lower rates than non-specialists, and higher activity levels and income from fees were associated with higher referral rates - particularly to private providers.
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- EGPRN primary care research at a crossroads advancing research on interprofessional collaboration and on integrated, equitable and complex care. An EGPRN Keynote Paper from the Autumn 2025 Plovdiv Conference. [Journal Article]Eur J Gen Pract. 2026 Dec; 32(1):2708494.EJ
- Primary healthcare is facing unprecedented complexity, driven by multimorbidity, social vulnerability, health inequities, rapid digitalisation, and shifting professional roles.
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- Challenges and strategies for managing early-to-moderate chronic kidney disease in primary care: A systematic integrative review in high-income countries. [Systematic Review]
- CONCLUSIONS: Management of early-to-moderate CKD in primary care varies considerably across high-income countries. Reported findings suggest that improving CKD care may require context-adapted strategies combining organisational, clinical, and educational components, particularly those involving multidisciplinary collaboration and decision support.
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- Effects of a brief primary care intervention for post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms after critical illness on health-related quality of life - A secondary analysis of the PICTURE randomised controlled trial. [Randomized Controlled Trial]
- CONCLUSIONS: In ICU survivors with PTSD symptoms, a brief GP-delivered psychological intervention was associated with clinically meaningful improvements in health-related quality of life over 12 months, with effects emerging over time and only partly explained by PTSD symptom reduction.
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- 'Writing letters to general practice': A qualitative interview study exploring the career sustainability of female general practitioners in Ireland. [Journal Article]Eur J Gen Pract. 2026 Dec; 32(1):2686540.EJ
- CONCLUSIONS: The career of a GP was treasured among women who chose this profession; however, system changes are needed to ensure the ideals of sustained and satisfying GP careers are upheld. Equipping GP graduates with skills to diversify their careers and promoting a strong peer-support network and mentoring opportunities are recommended.
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