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The book provides a summary of results from the 13th year of the BEACH program, a continuing national study of general practice activity in Australia.

From April 2010 to March 2011, 958 general practitioners recorded details about 95,800 GP-patient encounters, at which patients presented 149,005 reasons for encounter and 146,141 problems were managed. For an 'average' 100 problems managed, GPs recorded: 69 medications (including 56 prescribed, seven supplied to the patient and six advised for over-the-counter purchase); 11 procedures; 23 clinical treatments (advice and counselling); six referrals to specialists and three to allied health services; orders for 30 pathology tests and six imaging tests.

A subsample study of more than 31,000 patients suggests prevalence of measured risk factors in the attending adult (18 years and over) patient population were: obese - 27 per cent; overweight - 35 per cent; daily smoking - 15 per cent; at-risk alcohol consumption - 25 per cent. One in five people in the attending population had at least two of these risk factors.

A companion publication, is also available.

Clare Bayram is a research fellow at the Family Medical Research Centre at the University of Sydney, and project manager of the BEACH program.

Graeme Miller is an associate professor and Medical Director of the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney.

Helena Britt is a professor of primary care research at the University of Sydney.

Janice Charles is a senior research officer at 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.

List of tables
List of figures
Summary

1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. The sample
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. Practice nurse activity
14. Patient risk factors
15. SAND abstracts and research tools

References
Abbreviations
Symbols
Glossary
Appendix 1: example of a 2010–11 recording form
Appendix 2: GP characteristics questionnaire, 2010–11
Appendix 3: patient information card, 2010–11
Appendix 4: code groups from ICPC-2 and ICPC-2 PLUS

Format: paperback
Size: 297 × 210 × 10 mm
202 pages
40 b&w illustrations and 64 b&w tables
Copyright: © 2012
ISBN: 9781920899868
Publication: 22 Nov 2011
Series: General Practice Series 29