General practitioners in partnership with management: an organisational model for debate.

The role of general practitioners is changing and expanding. Doctors have more control over the treatment received by their patients but remain largely unaccountable to the public and management. This article proposes an organisational model for integrating primary and secondary care which retains the advantages of fund-holding while giving management control over overall strategy. It proposes that general practitioners control funds for all primary and secondary care. Secondary care will be contracted through a joint team of managers and an elected general practice executive committee. A new health care purchasing authority will contract for primary services with individual practices or primary care provider units. General practitioners will have local contracts reflecting their desire to provide an expanded range of services and the needs of the community.     

Health care rationing: the public's debate.

OBJECTIVE--To elicit the views of a large nationally representative sample of adults on priorities for health services. DESIGN--An interview survey based on a random sample of people aged 16 and over in Great Britain taken by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. SUBJECTS--The response rate to the survey was 75%, and the total number of adults interviewed was 2005. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--A priority ranking exercise of health services supplemented with attitude questions about priorities, who should set priorities, and budget allocation. RESULTS--The results of the main priority ranking exercise of 12 health services showed that the highest priority (rank 1) was accorded to "treatments for children with life threatening illness," the next highest priority (rank 2) was accorded to "special care and pain relief for people who are dying." The lowest priorities (11 and 12) were given to "treatment for infertility" and "treatment for people aged 75 and over with life threatening illness." Most respondents thought that surveys like this one should be used in the planning of health services. CONCLUSIONS--The public prioritise treatments specifically for younger rather than older people. There is some public support for people with self inflicted conditions (for example, through tobacco smoking) receiving lower priority for care, which raises ethical issues.     

Inhibition of mourning by pregnancy: psychopathology and management.

A bereavement during pregnancy is difficult to mourn: a pregnant woman is so increasingly preoccupied with the new life that mourning is interrupted and often impossible to resume later. This may lead to idealisation of the child as a reincarnation of the dead person or child abuse. A bereaved woman should be helped to mourn at the time of death and to keep alive the expectation of future mourning once her baby is thriving.     

Methotrexate therapy. Nonsurgical management of ectopic pregnancy.

Ectopic pregnancy has become a surgical epidemic over the past two decades. To minimize the morbidity, mortality, and financial burden created by this rapidly growing health problem, nonsurgical alternatives have been investigated, including treatment with methotrexate. We reviewed current literature to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and costs associated with methotrexate treatment of tubal pregnancy. To date, 17 studies have reported on 400 patients with tubal pregnancies treated with parenteral methotrexate; the overall success rate was 92% (95% confidence interval, 89% to 95%). Single-dose parenteral methotrexate has been shown to be safe, effective, and associated with minimal costs when used in carefully selected patients. A prospective, randomized clinical trial comparing medical and surgical management of ectopic pregnancy is needed to assess the risks, benefits, and costs of these two approaches.     

Conservative management of pregnancy in diabetic women.

In 1979 the obstetric management of pregnancies in diabetic women in Cardiff was changed from elective delivery at 37-38 weeks to delivery at term. This change was facilitated by home monitoring of blood glucose concentrations and improved techniques for assessing fetal wellbeing. There were 35 pregnancies in insulin dependent diabetics in 1972-8 and 45 in 1979-82. The quality of diabetic control during pregnancy was equally good in both periods. The average gestation at final admission to hospital increased from 30 to 37 weeks. Amniocentesis to assess fetal pulmonary maturity was necessary in 26 patients (74%) in the first period of study and in only four (9%) in the second. Gestational age at delivery increased from 37.4 to 39.4 weeks after the change in policy. The proportion of mothers entering spontaneous term labour and delivering vaginally increased from 14.3% to 37.8%. The mean birth weight of live born, singleton infants increased from 3090 g to 3650 g, the feeding pattern improved, and respiratory problems were less common. Morbidity was reduced and perinatal mortality was not increased with conservative management of pregnancy in diabetic women.