Medical Centre

Many countries are considering paying primary care physicians to improve the quality of care they provide to their patients (commonly known as 'pay for performance' or P4P). A recent study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found very little association between quality scores in a pay for performance scheme in England and admission rates for coronary heart disease. This suggests that improving the quality of primary care may not reduce demands on the hospital sector.

The Department of Primary Care & Social Medicine organised a very successful joint conference in Mauritius with the University of Mauritius and the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life. A number of topics were discussed and conference proceeedings will be prepared soon.

Recent research articles published by the Department of Primary Care and Social Medicine have appeared in PLoS Medicine (deaths from paracetamol poisoning), CMAJ and the Journal of Public Health (trends in diabetes prescribing), and Diabetologia (future trends in diabetes in the USA). Forthcoming articles on the impact of paying doctors for performance on the quality of care they provide and an international comparison of primary care practice will appear in PLoS Medicine, CMAJ and the BMJ.