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Drug Misuse and Primary Care in the New NHS

NCJ Number
185369
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2000 Pages: 213-221
Author(s)
C. Gerada
Date Published
August 2000
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article describes how primary care can best provide service, through the English National Health Service, to patients with substance-related problems.
Abstract
For years, Central Government policy has been to involve general practitioners (GPs) in the care of drug misusers. High morbidity and mortality rates make it particularly important that drug misusers make contact with treatment services, yet this group is regularly denied effective and evidence-based treatment by the National Health Service. To get GPs to undertake this work, secondary services must adapt their services to enable shared care which is easily accessible and flexible enough to accommodate the differing skills of the GP and the Primary Health Care Team. This article describes, from a predominantly English primary care viewpoint, the changing face of primary care, its altered relationship to secondary care, and how primary care can best act to provide service to patients with substance-related problems. It also reviews some key policy changes that could be relevant to planning and delivering services to substance misusers. References