Editor Note - (2016) Volume 24, Issue 3
The technological advancements, like media and internet, have surely helped the patients as well as the clinicians. However, many traditional issues, remain the same. For example, physicians complaining of not handling the patients, whom they consider difficult. Similarly, the need for training, of the patients for the behavioral health screens, also remains a topic of debate. Moreover, the “patient behavior”, remains still a challenging aspect of medicine. If we analyze deeply, in a non-biased manner we will discover that it’s not only the patient behavior that requires improvement, it is clinicians’ behavior as well, which is problematic and needs improvement. The advancements in science and technology continue, and different modes of new treatments and diagnostic modalities continue to emerge. Yet the common diseases, historically seen in the patients, are still the subject of medical research, books, journals and the medical industry as a whole.
The current issue of the journal “Quality in primary care” highlights all the above mentioned aspects of clinical medicine. In the issue we published the papers about problematic patient behavior; physician behavior; as well as some commonly seen medical problems. Thus, this particular issue will be helpful, for the future clinicians, patients, and all other people, who are somehow associated with medical sciences.
In this issue Schoenenberger S, highlighted the problems faced by the physicians and other clinicians while dealing with what they believe are “difficult patients” and emphasized how the doctor-patient relationship could be strengthened in the near future.
Moreover, Funderburk Jennifer S et al. published the article about “The Training and Administration of Behavioral Health Screens Within the Veterans Health Administration”
According to them, gaps in the training exist in the process of screening in the primary care practice. They also point towards a problem that the best practices in administration of health screens are neglected, despite being essential to screening measures having strong psychometric properties.
Pullicino G et al., wrote a research article on patient characteristics of health seeking behaviors. Their findings provide information for policy makers to improve equity and resource allocations within the setting of urban population, to improve at-risk patients’ wellness.Khokher et al. from Pakistan, published their case report of two cases on breast cancer, one in a 32 year old and the other in a fifteen year old. On the other hand, Zee et al. published about stroke risk assessment, according to them retinal images contain valuable information for stroke risk assessment along with the conventional clinical variables. Furthermore, Abdelgawad et al. Overview of Angiogenesis in Upper Egypt Non Hodgkins Lymphoma Patients
Reston et al. published their article on Promoting Healthy Posture for Wheelchair Users through Appropriate Lumbar Support and Effective Ergonomic Design. They believe that wheelchair users can avoid many long-term health problems and enjoy a better quality of life, if they adopt healthy wheelchair posture. Thus, this current issue of the primary care quality is a very informative and useful issue for the clinicians and the patients.
