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Contents – October 2002

News

NICE diabetes guideline sets tight blood glucose targets

Montrose GPs win first annual Guidelines in Practice Awards

SIGN guideline will aid assessment of post-menopausal bleeding

Editorial

The Guidelines in Practice Annual Awards 2002

Professor Richard Baker, Dr Tricia Donald and Dr Nigel Watson, our three judges, assess the standard of this year's entries

View

Do guidelines set realistic blood glucose targets?

A more pragmatic approach to glycaemic control would have made a useful guideline even better, says Dr Roger Gadsby

Linking Evidence to Practice

The role of statins in patients at high risk of vascular disease

New evidence supports the use of statins in patients at high risk of vascular disease regardless of their absolute cholesterol levels, as Dr Andrew Clark explains

Audit

Audit improves access to care for drug users with hepatitis C

Dr Jez Thompson describes the changes his practice made in response to audit findings that hepatitis C patients were not taking up the treatment they needed

Guidelines in Practice Awards: winning entry

Implementing CHD prevention guidelines electronically: CARDIA

Montrose GP Dr John Griffith, winner of the Guidelines in Practice Awards 2002, describes his team's project to improve primary and secondary prevention

Medico-legal Issues in General Practice

What are the most common causes of medico-legal claims?

Delays in diagnosis, referral or treatment top the list of claims made against GPs, as Dr Gerard Panting of the Medical Protection Society explains

Focus on CME

Guidelines in Practice CME questions: 14

Write the answers in the spaces provided, then cut out the pages and put them in your personal development plan

Test Your Guidelines Knowledge

Win a 2-night break for two at the Vale Hotel, South Wales

How well do you know the NICE referral advice on sore throat?

NICE Referral Guide

NICE referral advice: 10. 'Prostatism'

Patient Information

SIGN notes for discussion with patients: 2. Postnatal Depression

Your Problems Solved: Medico-legal Issues

Our panel of experts answer medico-legal questions

Dr Gerard Panting answers questions on prescribing off licence, and diagnosing and prescribing over the internet

Index

Notes for Authors

Writing for Guidelines in Practice: instructions for authors

Out of Hours

Guidelines on lacking knowledge

Dr Phil Hammond, GP and broadcaster