A Decade of Australian General Practice Activity 2003-04 to 2012-13: General Practice Series No. 34(General Practice Series)

This report highlights changes in general practice activity in Australia over the decade from April 2003 to March 2013 of the BEACH program, a national cross-sectional study of general practice activity. Over this time 9,772 GPs provided details of 977,200 GP–patient encounters. The report highlights changes that have occurred over the decade in the characteristics of GPs and the patients they see, the problems managed and the treatments provided. Changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity, smoking status and alcohol use are also described for sub-samples of more than 30,000 adult patients each year. This report is a companion to the annual report General Practice Activity in Australia 2012–13.

Table of Contents:
List of tables List of figures Summary 1. Introduction 2. Methods 3. The samples 4. The participating GPs 5. The encounters 6. The patients 7. Problems managed 8. Overview of management 9. Medications 10. Other treatments 11. Referrals and admissions 12. Investigations 13. Patient risk factors References Abbreviations Symbols Glossary Appendix 1: example of a 2012–13 recording form Appendix 2: GP characteristics questionnaire, 2012–13 Appendix 3: patient information card, 2012–13 Appendix 4: code groups from ICPC-2 and ICPC-2 PLUS

About the Author :
Helena Britt is a professor of primary care research at the University of Sydney. Graeme C. Miller is an associate professor and Medical Director of the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney. Joan Henderson is the Deputy Director of the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney. Janice Charles is a senior research officer at the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney. Lisa Valenti is a senior research analyst for the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney. Christopher Harrison is a senior research analyst for the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney. Clare Bayram is a research fellow at the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney and project manager of the BEACH program. Timothy Chambers is the IT Manager for the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney. Carmen Zhang is a research officer at the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney. Ying Pan is a senior research analyst for the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney. Julie Gordon (née O'Halloran) is a research fellow at the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney. Allan J. Pollack is a research analyst for the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney.