A survey released today by The Physicians’ Foundation depicts widespread frustration and concern among primary care physicians nationwide, which could lead to a dramatic decrease in practicing doctors in the near future. The survey examined the causes behind the doctors’ dissatisfaction, the state of their practices and the future of care.

Gaining a fuller and more accurate picture of trends in the most important disease risk factors is now possible, thanks to a project between the NHS Information Centre and QResearch®.

The majority of general internists and pediatricians in the United States are not comfortable serving as primary care providers for young adults with complex chronic illnesses that originate during childhood, according to findings from a new national survey.

By 2025, the wait to see a doctor could get a lot longer if the current number of students training to be primary care physicians doesn't increase soon, according to a new University of Missouri study.

The government’s new healthcare commissioning policy for England has not only jeopardised the future of many hospitals but has also led to considerable frustration and disappointment among patients, argue senior doctors in this week’s BMJ.

Children examined by the same doctor during their first six months of life are more likely to receive appropriate preventive health screenings -- for lead poisoning, anemia and tuberculosis - by age two. Pediatric researchers said being cared for repeatedly by the same physician, often referred to as continuity of care, was a very important factor in the children they studied.

In an editorial in the November issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, geriatrics researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Indiana University Center for Aging Research and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. say that primary care doctors, the physicians seen by most older adults, cannot meet the needs of the growing number of older adults with dementia without changing how the primary care system approaches dementia.

GP services could be compromised by new provisions enabling commercial companies to provide primary care through locally negotiated contracts, researchers warn.

Health plans seldom require screening for substance abuse and mental health in primary care even though it can improve detection, according to a new Brandeis University study published in the July issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. This may be a missed opportunity to help people with mental illness or substance abuse problems, only a fraction of whom currently receive treatment.

Nearly a quarter of hospital or “healthline” operators mistakenly routed a caller describing classic stroke symptoms to primary care doctors rather than to 9-1-1, according to a research project published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The average American spends a total of about 30 minutes a year with a primary care physician in a system that is less comprehensive than that of Australia or New Zealand, according to a new study comparing primary care practice in the three countries.

Antidepressants and psychological treatments such as hypnotherapy have the potential to help patients with severe irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), say researchers in this week's BMJ.