Changes in reasons for visits to primary care after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: An international comparative study by the International Consortium of Primary Care Big Data Researchers (INTRePID).

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped healthcare delivery worldwide.

Objective: To explore potential changes in the reasons for visits and modality of care in primary care settings through the International Consortium of Primary Care Big Data Researchers (INTRePID).

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective study from 2018-2021.

Overview of global monitoring systems for the side effects and adverse events associated with medicinal cannabis use: a scoping review using a systematic approach.

Objectives: The use of cannabis-based medicine (CBM) as a therapeutic has surged in Australia over the past 5 years. Historically, the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961) prohibited cannabis use in Europe, the USA, the UK and Australia, leading to legislative resistance and limited preclinical data on CBM. Existing safety monitoring systems for CBM are poorly structured and do not integrate well into the workflows of busy health professionals.

Changes in primary care visits for respiratory illness during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multinational study by the International Consortium of Primary Care Big Data Researchers (INTRePID).

Objectives: The majority of patients with respiratory illness are seen in primary care settings. Given COVID-19 is predominantly a respiratory illness, the INTernational ConsoRtium of Primary Care BIg Data Researchers (INTRePID), assessed the pandemic impact on primary care visits for respiratory illnesses.

Design: Definitions for respiratory illness types were agreed on collectively.

Using primary care data for research: What are the issues and potential solutions?

Background: Interest in using primary care data for research is growing with increasing recognition of its potential for improving healthcare. Many issues exist, some inherent in the data and others external.

Objective: This paper explores the main issues associated with the use of primary care data for research and proposed solutions to address them.

Undercounting diagnoses in Australian general practice: a data quality study with implications for population health reporting.

Background: Diagnosis can often be recorded in electronic medical records (EMRs) as free-text or using a term with a diagnosis code. Researchers, governments, and agencies, including organisations that deliver incentivised primary care quality improvement programs, frequently utilise coded data only and often ignore free-text entries. Diagnosis data are reported for population healthcare planning including resource allocation for patient care.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health visits in primary care: an interrupted time series analysis from nine INTRePID countries.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health disorders, affecting both individuals with pre-existing conditions and those with no prior history. However, there is limited evidence regarding the pandemic's impact on mental health visits to primary care physicians. The (INTRePID) explored primary care visit trends related to mental health conditions in Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Norway, Peru, Singapore, Sweden, and the USA.

Global impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on sexual and reproductive health services: An international comparative study on primary care from the INTRePID Consortium.

Objective: To understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted sexual and reproductive health (SRH) visits.

Design: An ecological study comparing SRH services volume in different countries before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Setting: Seven countries from the INTernational ConsoRtium of Primary Care BIg Data Researchers (INTRePID) across four continents.

Evidence from Human Studies for Utilising Cannabinoids for the Treatment of Substance-Use Disorders: A Scoping Review with a Systematic Approach.

Substance-use disorders are pervasive, comorbid with a plethora of disease and possess limited treatment options. Medicinal cannabinoids have been proposed as a novel potential treatment based on preclinical/animal trials. The objective of this study was to examine the efficacy and safety of potential therapeutics targeting the endocannabinoid system in the treatment of substance-use disorders.

Using Social Media Data to Investigate Public Perceptions of Cannabis as a Medicine: Narrative Review.

Background: The use and acceptance of medicinal cannabis is on the rise across the globe. To support the interests of public health, evidence relating to its use, effects, and safety is required to match this community demand. Web-based user-generated data are often used by researchers and public health organizations for the investigation of consumer perceptions, market forces, population behaviors, and for pharmacoepidemiology.

: Use of electronic medical records to monitor the safe and effective prescribing of medicinal cannabis: is it feasible?

Background: General practitioners are well positioned to contribute to the pharmacovigilance of medical cannabis via the general practice electronic medical record (EMR). The aim of this research is to interrogate de-identified patient data from the Patron primary care data repository for reports of medicinal cannabis to ascertain the feasibility of using EMRs to monitor medicinal cannabis prescribing in Australia.

Methods: EMR rule-based digital phenotyping of 1 164 846 active patients from 109 practices was undertaken to investigate reports of medicinal cannabis use from September 2017 to September 2020.

From growers to patients: Multi-stakeholder views on the use of, and access to medicinal cannabis in Australia.

Background: Patient interest in the use of cannabis-based medicines (CBMs) has increased in Australia. While recent policy and legislative changes have enabled health practitioners to prescribe CBMs for their patients, many patients still struggle to access CBMs. This paper employed a thematic analysis to submissions made to a 2019 Australian government inquiry into current barriers of patient access to medical cannabis.

The development of Future Health Today: piloting a new platform for identification and management of chronic disease in general practice.

Chronic disease identification and management is a significant issue in Australia, with general practice being the primary contact point for those at risk of, or living with, chronic disease. However, there is a well-described gap between guideline recommendations for chronic disease management and translation in the general practice setting. In 2018, a group of researchers, clinicians and software developers collaborated to develop a tool to support the identification and management of chronic disease in general practice, with the aim to create a platform that met the needs of general practice.

The Rise and Rise of Medicinal Cannabis, What Now? Medicinal Cannabis Prescribing in Australia 2017-2022.

Medicinal cannabis was legalised in Australia in November 2016. By August 2022, there were 5284 specialist physician and general practitioner (GP) prescribers who submitted Special Access Scheme (SAS) applications to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for the provision of medicinal cannabis prescriptions their patients. In this article we examine the impact of the delivery of publicly available clinical guidance documents, provision of education to prescribers, establishment of the TGA online portal, and launching of cannabis clinics on the number of applications approved by the TGA over time.

Use of electronic medical records to monitor the safe and effective prescribing of medicinal cannabis: is it feasible?

Background: General practitioners are well positioned to contribute to the pharmacovigilance of medical cannabis via the general practice electronic medical record (EMR). The aim of this research is to interrogate de-identified patient data from the Patron primary care data repository for reports of medicinal cannabis to ascertain the feasibility of using EMRs to monitor medicinal cannabis prescribing in Australia.

Methods: EMR rule-based digital phenotyping of 1 164 846 active patients from 109 practices was undertaken to investigate reports of medicinal cannabis use from September 2017 to September 2020.

Changes in primary care visits arising from the COVID-19 pandemic: an international comparative study by the International Consortium of Primary Care Big Data Researchers (INTRePID).

Introduction: Through the ernational Consotium of rimary Care Bg ata Researchers (), we compared the pandemic impact on the volume of primary care visits and uptake of virtual care in Australia, Canada, China, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, the UK and the USA.

Methods: Visit definitions were agreed on centrally, implemented locally across the various settings in INTRePID countries, and weekly visit counts were shared centrally for analysis. We evaluated the weekly rate of primary care physician visits during 2019 and 2020.

Costing of an Australian general practice COVID-19 drive-through testing and respiratory clinic.

Background: Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires safe and efficient testing on a large scale over a prolonged period. Outpatient testing facilities can clinically assess and test symptomatic individuals and test asymptomatic contacts. This study identified the resources required to establish and maintain an Australian general practitioner (GP) led testing facility that combined a respiratory clinic for clinical assessment and testing with a drive-through testing facility.

Pharmacists' perceptions and experiences of medicinal cannabis dispensing: A narrative review with a systematic approach.

Objectives: Medicinal cannabis was introduced with limited understanding of effect, and minimal rigorous evidence supporting efficacy, yet the global demand for medicinal cannabis continues to increase. In Australia, pharmacists remain a key conduit between the prescriber and patient, as most medicinal cannabis products are available only through approved prescriptions. This places pharmacists in a strong position to inform the evolving policy and practice of medicinal cannabis.

Implementation of medicinal cannabis in Australia: innovation or upheaval? Perspectives from physicians as key informants, a qualitative analysis.

Objective: We sought to explore physician perspectives on the prescribing of cannabinoids to patients to gain a deeper understanding of the issues faced by prescriber and public health advisors in the rollout of medicinal cannabis.

Design: A thematic qualitative analysis of 21 in-depth interviews was undertaken to explore the narrative on the policy and practice of medicinal cannabis prescribing. The analysis used the Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) theoretical framework to model the conceptualisation of the rollout of medicinal cannabis in the Australian context.

Over the counter low-dose cannabidiol: A viewpoint from the ACRE Capacity Building Group.

Amidst growing global acceptance of medicinal cannabinoids as a potential therapeutic interest in cannabidiol (CBD) is increasing. In Australia in 2020, a government inquiry examined the barriers that the public are experiencing in accessing medicinal cannabis. A number of recommendations to improve access were made.

Advanced training for primary care and general practice nurses: enablers and outcomes of postgraduate education.

The aims of the present study were to understand enablers to participation in postgraduate education for primary care nurses (PCNs), and to explore how postgraduate education has advanced their nursing practice. Cross-sectional questionnaires were mailed out in April 2012 to current and past students undertaking postgraduate studies in primary care nursing at The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Questionnaires were returned by 100 out of 243 nurses (response rate 41%).

Program logic: a framework for health program design and evaluation - the Pap nurse in general practice program.

In this paper, program logic will be used to 'map out' the planning, development and evaluation of the general practice Pap nurse program in the Australian general practice arena. The incorporation of program logic into the evaluative process supports a greater appreciation of the theoretical assumptions and external influences that underpin general practice Pap nurse activity. The creation of a program logic model is a conscious strategy that results an explicit understanding of the challenges ahead, the resources available and time frames for outcomes.