What makes Veterans different from other patients?

Estimates have suggested that 25% of primary care laboratory tests might be ‘unnecessary’, with research demonstrating unwarranted variation and overuse of specific tests including thyroid function tests, liver function tests, prostate- specific antigen tests, and vitamin D tests. In this podcast Dr Thomas Round talks to Dr Jessica Watson, GP and Consultant Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol with an interest in evidence based rational testing, about rational testing in primary care. They explore why testing is undertaken in medicine and general practice, when doctors should use blood tests, how to share information about tests with patients, manage patient queries and demand and when to retest. They discuss the increase in testing demand, the science behind testing and what the evidence shows us regarding over testing. In addition, they review recent research and guidance e.g. accessible results practical toolkits and the PITSTOP project. They also offer top tips for everyday practice and signpost to useful resources. RCGP Podcast Feedback Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us improve the CPD products and services we offer. We would be grateful if you could please complete our short RCGP Podcast Survey, which will take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Transcript References & Further Reading:

In this podcast we interview Dr. Katherine Peterson, a GP partner and strategic clinical lead for learning disability, neurodivergence and mental health in North East and North Cumbria ICB. Patients with learning disability can have difficulties accessing primary care and have worse health outcomes than the general population. This podcast discusses some practical ways that practices can improve care for this cohort.

In 2024 there were 3,043 new HIV diagnoses in the UK, this is a 4% decrease from 3,169 diagnoses in 2023; while in England, new HIV diagnoses decreased by 2% from 2,838 in 2023 to 2,773 in 2024. In this podcast Dr Thomas Round talks to Dr Shrey Mathur, an academic GP in East London and researcher at Queen Mary University of London with an interest in HIV early diagnosis, about HIV and the role of primary care. They reflect on what HIV is, its historical context and the changes in diagnosis, treatment and management and the need to move away from potential bias within specific populations/at risk groups for testing and ways to reduce the stigma. They discuss when to test in primary care including thresholds and managing positive results, transfer of care to specialist services and communication between the two, coding patient records accordingly around medications, the use of Post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and long-acting injectables. They also offer top tips for everyday practice and signpost to useful resources. RCGP Podcast Feedback Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us improve the CPD products and services we offer. We would be grateful if you could please complete our short RCGP Podcast Survey, which will take no more than 5 minutes to complete. References:

It is estimated that there are almost 3.5 million people living with cancer in the UK and on average someone is diagnosed with cancer at least every 75 seconds (UK). In this podcast Dr Thomas Round talks to Professor Willie Hamilton, a Professor of Primary Care Cancer Research about the updates to cancer detection in primary care. They reflect on why primary care is so important in this area, the changing epidemiology in cancer and cancer in younger people including the increase in colorectal cancer. They discuss the changes in cancer screening e.g. cervical cancer (introduction of home screening) and bowel cancer (age reduction and Faecal immunochemical test (FIT) thresholds), Positive Predictive Value (PPV), symptomatic presentations, difficult to diagnose cancers and atypical presentations. They also offer top tips for everyday practice and signpost to useful resources. RCGP Podcast Feedback Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us improve the CPD products and services we offer. We would be grateful if you could please complete our short RCGP Podcast Survey, which will take no more than 5 minutes to complete. References

Respiratory disease, including infections, affects one in five people in England and is the third biggest cause of death, with around 68,000 annual deaths. In this podcast Dr Thomas Round talks to Professor Paul Little, a GP and Professor of Primary Care Research at the University of Southampton about respiratory tract infections. They provide a discussion on the common presentations to primary care including symptoms and their duration, natural history, assessment (triage), red flags, treatment including best practice for the use of antibiotics (NNT and NNH, TARGET toolkit), point of care testing (CRP), the use of nasal sprays, encouraging at risk groups to receive vaccinations, continuation of hand washing, and the impact of stress on illness. They also offer top tips for everyday practice. RCGP Podcast Feedback Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us improve the CPD products and services we offer. We would be grateful if you could please complete our short RCGP Podcast Survey, which will take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Further reading: