Primary Care: Today and Tomorrow – Improving general practice by working differently
In May 2012, Deloitte published a report looking at capacity and capability of general practice now and in the future.  “Primary Care: Today and Tomorrow”, highlights the need for general practice to work differently to cope effectively with the increasing demands it faces, and this is especially important now because demand is set to rise as people are living longer.
According to the Report, general practices need to develop ways of working with patients to help them improve their health rather than simply treating their “episodic illness”. Improved information and communications in practices is needed, developing shared decision-making and self care strategies to help educate patients into taking care of their own health.
If people are not equipped with the knowledge to look after their own health and the pattern of consultations remain unchanged, the Report predicts that by 2035 there could be a total of 433 million GP consultations, of which 180 million would be for people aged 65 and over, nearly double the current number.
To download the report please click here
Ernst and Young’s 2012 Progressions report provides important information on two key areas of self-care
The annual Ernst and Young’s Progressions report reviews recent developments and trends in healthcare and the impact of these developments. The 2012 report provides important information on two key areas of self-care:The importance of behavioural change and new tools to facilitate behavioural change:
- The importance of behavioural change and new tools to facilitate behavioural change
- Patients: nudging patient behaviour
Click here to download the report in full
Key outputs from the report include:
- Health care costs are becoming unsustainable, in large part due to a chronic disease epidemic fuelled by unhealthy lifestyles, aging populations and increasing standards of living. To bring costs under control and improve health outcomes, patients and other stakeholders of the health care system will need to change their behaviour.
- To enable these behavioural changes, the epicentre of the health care system is shifting from the two places in which health care has traditionally been produced, delivered, consumed and paid for — the hospital and the doctor’s office — to a third place: the patient.
- Patients – who have grown increasingly comfortable with empowering technologies (e.g. smartphone apps, monitors, social media) are taking a more active role in managing their health and are demanding a different model.
- Getting people to adopt healthy behaviours represents a tremendous economic opportunity for life science companies and health care systems, but this has been extremely difficult despite patients’ best intentions.
- Behavioural economics demonstrates that the reason people fail to make behavioural changes is that they have predictable biases that affect decision making – leveraging the science of behavioural economics to understand human biases allows companies to construct incentives and create products/services that are far more likely to succeed.
Everyday Healthcare Study 1997: A Consumer Study of Self-medication in Great Britain
In 1986, PAGB commissioned the British Market Research Bureau to conduct the first national survey of everyday healthcare in Britain. Ten years later, changes in the healthcare environment and market meant that there was a need for the 1986 research to be updated. In 1996/97 the study was repeated using the same methodology. Together these studies show how people in Britain view their health, their sources of advice and information and how they treat minor ailments.
What does the study show?
- The Everyday Healthcare Study shows that the British public are sensible and cautious in their use of medicines.
- We are not a pill for every ill society.
- With the right advice and help people are confident that they can manage minor ailments themselves and they do so.
- People value the availability of over the counter medicines.
- People find OTC medicines effective and they tend to use the same product each time they experience the same illness.
- The doctor is still the most important advisor and health care influence.
- Many people are visiting doctors for advice and treatment of ailments that they could manage themselves.
For more information click here
Making the case for the self care of minor ailments
The findings of research commissioned by PAGB and conducted by Kantar Health.
Helping People Help Themselves
The Health Foundation has produced this literature review to respond to the questions and challenges of clinicians wanting to appraise the benefits of self-management support.
This review of more than 550 pieces of high quality research suggests that it is worthwhile to support self-management, in particular through focusing on behaviour change and supporting self-efficacy.
Towards a Healthier Britain 2010
This report, commissioned by PAGB and authored by Dr Pamela Mason and Dr Carrie Ruxton, provides an analysis of the nation’s nutritional intake. It is an update of 2008′s Towards a Healthier Britain report using the latest scientific evidence from dietary surveys.
The report finds that nutrient intakes have improved very little in the past decade and a substantial number of British adults and children are at risk of nutrient deficiency. It goes on to explore the role of supplementation and suggests ways to improve how nutritional advice is presented to the public.
The Changing Landscape: A multi-country study undertaken for AESGP
The Nielsen Company partnered the Association of the European Self-medication Industry (AESGP) in this global research project. Part of the research followed up on some of the questions from 2008 while the other questions examined the impact of the economic crisis on consumer behaviour concerning self-medication.
These slides have been edited to just include the findings from Europe. However, if you would like to see the full global data please contact Claire Weaver.
Pharmacists’ perceptions of POM to P switches
New research surveying pharmacists’ perceptions of POM P switches, reveals that the majority of pharmacists believe POM to P switches bring added value to the profession, allowing the provision of quality products to patients and simultaneously empower the pharmacist. The survey, commissioned by PAGB and conducted by Health Attitudes Direct, also found that the main drivers for pharmacists recommending a POM to P switch over existing products were that the product offered a therapeutic advance (90%), belief in the product (70%) and their own experience of using the product (55%).
To download the poster that shows the findings click here
Towards a Healthier Britain: The Potential Role of Food Supplements in Government Policy
This report, commissioned by PAGB, is a response to the Cabinet Office publication, ‘Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century’ which sets out the government’s vision for food policy and considers the impact of nutrition on the health of the UK’s population. The government recognises that people’s diets need to change and that if they ‘met nutritional guidelines, 70,000 premature deaths could be prevented each year’. But is the nation meeting these dietary recommendations?
In the report, nutrition expert, Dr Pamela Mason, provides an analysis of the nation’s nutritional intake and discusses the potential role for food supplements, particularly vitamins and minerals, and identifies the nutritional gap that currently exists.
Minor ailment workload in General Practice
In 2008, PAGB revealed the findings of the first study to provide quantification of minor ailment workload in General Practice.
The survey, commissioned by PAGB and conducted by IMS, found that the treatment of minor ailments accounts for 18-20% of GP workload, incurring a significant cost of around £2 billion a year to the NHS. A huge 57 million consultations are for minor ailments (51.4 million of which are for minor ailments alone), resulting in over an hour a day for every GP and 52 million prescriptions.
Andy Tisman from IMS Health summarises the key findings of the study in an article from PAGB’s 2008 Annual Review.
To download the article click here
How to drive growth in self care: A multi-country study undertaken for AESGP
The Nielsen Company partnered the Association of the European Self-medication Industry (AESGP) in this global research project. The objective was to better understand consumer attitudes towards key aspects of self care:
- Willingness to self-medicate when feeling the onset of a minor ailment
- Barriers to routine self-medication when feeling the onset of a minor ailment
- Factors influencing product choice of non-prescription medicines
- From what sources are consumers expecting to get information in the future to help them take care of their health and minor ailments
- To what extent do consumers agree or disagree with the concept of more prescription medicines being available without doctor involvement
Self Care Aware: Joining Up Self Care in the NHS
What is the community impact of a coordinated approach to self care? The outcome of an action research project in Erewash PCT.
JUSC is a strategy to improve the interface between primary care and the community. This will ensure that service demand is efficiently managed, actively supporting the individual’s own ability to combine self care, when possible, with primary care, when needed.
Joining Up Self Care in Erewash centred on three disease-related modules:
The PCT also made concerted efforts to engage with healthcare professionals, including providing bespoke self care aware consultation training. These activities culminated in the introduction of a GP Local Enhanced Service promoting self care.
The study found an increase in the reduction of risk factors in CHD, confidence levels in managing asthma and mothers’ willingness to self treat many children’s minor ailments as well as a more positive attitude towards self care among health professionals and PCT managers.
Download the report here:
JUSC Summary Report
JUSC Full Report
JUSC Annexes
JUSC Summary by WiPP (The Working in Partnership Programme)
A Picture of Health
This report summarises a national consumer survey, carried out by independent research organisation NOP World in May 2005, into people’s experience of everyday ailments and health conditions – such as colds, headaches, allergies, indigestion and muscle aches – and how they deal with them.
The findings offer a fascinating insight into how we manage our everyday health and, in particular, show our strong preference for looking after ourselves as far as we can.
The study was commissioned jointly by PAGB and Reader’s Digest in order to gain an up-to-date, objective picture of how we approach everyday health matters.
To download the summary click here
A Summary Profile of the OTC Consumer
PAGB has developed a summary profile of the OTC consumer and how they manage their health, their attitudes and actions taken. Most of the data is quantitative, and a short commentary is provided to highlight key points. Key data comes from BMRB, Mintel, Kings Fund and Prism (Reader’s Digest) research reports, although several others are also referenced.
To download the summary click here
Are you a Champion for Self Care? Do you want to join the Self Care Movement? Email libby.whittaker@selfcareforum.org