GPs can safely reduce the number of antihypertensive medications taken by some older people without substantial changes to blood pressure control, finds new research from the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Southampton. See key messages for clinicians and healthcare commissioners here A potential major consequence of lockdown measures introduced to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic is […]
Archives for May 2020
Patient and public involvement in general practice research
Ben Bowers, Roberta Lovick, Kristian Pollock and Stephen Barclay draw on experience as three researchers and one PPI group member in their recently published discussion of patient and public involvement in primary care research. Their article was published in the British Journal of General Practice. Highlighting some key challenges and practicalities involved in timely, proportionate and effective collaborations in […]
Advance care planning should be person-centred, not plan-centred, say end-of-life care researchers in BMJ editorial
Compared to younger people, older people and those with frailty are more likely to die from acute infections, such as COVID-19, and less likely to survive intensive care. Advance care planning conversations rarely took place with older or frail people before the pandemic, but have now become prominent in the media amidst concerns about denial […]
Combination of text messages and voice messages can help patients to take their medicine
Digital interventions are effective in helping patients in primary care take the medicines they have been prescribed, according to the first UK study of whether highly tailored text and voice messages are useful as a tool to improve medication adherence. The new study, called Medication Adherence for Patient’s Support, or MAPS, proves the importance of […]
Dr Stephen Barclay provides expert help on end of life care in the community during the pandemic
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic develops, increasing numbers of seriously ill and dying patients are being cared for at home and in care homes by GPs, nurses, and their families and friends. Significant challenges are emerging for primary care practitioners including: symptom management for the dying phase of COVID-19; planning and coordination of […]
Diagnostic delays for people with lupus described in new study
People living with lupus report frequent lengthy time delays between their first symptoms and their lupus diagnosis, in new research from the University of Cambridge and LUPUS UK. The research indicates that the delays to diagnosis could be improved if clinicians had better knowledge of the disease, listened to and believed patient-reported symptoms and looked […]