November issue of Australian Journal of General Practice now available

The November issue of the Australian Journal of General Practice (AJGP) focuses on palliative care, and its progression from the margins to having a key role and responsibility in general practice.
 
Focus
Home-based palliative care
While most people say they would prefer to be cared for and to die at home, this outcome is often not achieved. This represents a service gap that GPs are optimally positioned to fill.
Liz Reymond, Greg Parker, Louisa Gilles, Karen Cooper  
 
Advance care decision making and planning
This paper outlines the key barriers to general practice involvement in advance care planning, and describes useful strategies for incorporating advance care planning into patient care.
Michael Tran, Matthew Grant, Josephine Clayton, Joel Rhee
 
Principles of cancer pain management: An overview and focus on pharmacological and interventional strategies
This paper outlines aspects of cancer pain assessment, provides a mechanistic framework to facilitate analysis and guide treatment, and emphasises the need for ongoing assessment of treatment efficacy and toxicities.
Jaclyn Yoong, Peter Poon  
 
Palliative care for the patient without cancer
Palliative care aims to improve quality of life for patients with life-limiting illnesses. It is often linked to the care of people with cancer; however, patients with non-cancer end-stage conditions also have significant needs.
Lisa Mounsey, Miriam Ferres, Peter Eastman  
 
Editorial
Education is the key to the provision of quality palliative care
Palliative care has progressed from the margins to having a key role and responsibility within the discipline of general practice within a relatively short period. Education is a key component in the development and support structures that GPs require to undertake this important task.
Stephen A Margolis 
 
Clinical
Differentiating between benign and malignant thyroid nodules: An evidence-based approach in general practice
The aim of this article is to bring GPs up to date on the evidence-based management of thyroid nodules, with specific focus on neoplastic nodules, while highlighting significant changes in the 2015 American Thyroid Association guidelines.
Stuart Bailey, Benjamin Wallwork  
 
Neurodevelopmental outcome of late-preterm infants: A pragmatic review
The aim of this paper is to carry out a pragmatic review of the current evidence regarding the neurodevelopmental risks of speech delay, cerebral palsy, cognitive delay, autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in late-preterm infants.
Ravisha Srinivas Jois
 
A large annular scaly plaque
A Caucasian man aged 60 years presented with a six-month history of an annular, red, scaly plaque on his posterior thigh. The plaque had started as a small papule, which then slowly expanded to >10 cm in diameter. He was systemically well but had a past history of alcohol dependence and liver cirrhosis.
Gwyneth N Wong, Jane Li, Matheen Mohamed, Richard Williams, Alvin Chong
 
A man with an itchy auricular mass lesion
A man aged 47 years presented with a six-month history of an itchy and enlarging mass on his left auricle. The patient remembered that the itching sensation first began about six months earlier and the mass had enlarged gradually over the last two months.
Yang Ho Lee, Kang Duk Suh, Seog-Kyun Mun 
 
Research
The general practice nurse workforce: Estimating future supply
General practice nurses form an important component of the general practice workforce in Australia. Despite this, there is limited research on estimating their future supply.
Troy Heywood, Caroline Laurence 
 
Use of electronic medical records to describe general practitioner antibiotic prescribing patterns
The computerised medical records of general practice patients can inform our understanding of antibiotic prescribing and assist in antimicrobial stewardship. The aim of this study was to describe Australian GP antibiotic prescribing patterns using data extracted from electronic medical records.
Lesley Hawes, Lyle Turner, Kirsty Buising, Danielle Mazza  
 
An online resource supporting refugee healthcare in Australian general practice: An exploratory study
GPs are known to encounter challenges when working with patients from refugee backgrounds. This study explores GPs’ perceptions of a trial version of the Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide website.
Timothy Wittick, Kate Walker, John Furler, Phyllis Lau 
 
Do you talk to your older patients about sexual health? Health practitioners’ knowledge of, and attitudes towards, management of sexual health among older Australians
Research suggests that older patients want to talk about sexual health, but are reluctant to initiate these discussions with health practitioners.
Sue Malta, Jane Hocking, Jenni Lyne, Declan McGavin, Jesse Hunter, Adrian Bickerstaffe, Meredith Temple-Smith  
 
Rural clinical school students do come back: But it may take time
Rural clinical schools help address Australia’s rural workforce shortfall, but they require an investment by rural clinicians and communities.
Malcolm Moore, Sarath Burgis-Kasthala, Amanda Barnard, Sally Hall, Stuart Marks 
 
Clinical challenge
November clinical challenge
Based on this month's Focus articles, the activity has been endorsed by the RACGP QI&CPD Program and has been allocated four Category 2 points (Activity ID: 144462). To complete this activity, go to gplearning and log in with the username and password you use to log in to the RACGP website.

AJGP Australian Journal of General Practice palliative care