title: Respiratory medicine.
abstract: The General Medical Services (GMS) contract has focused the attention of United Kingdom (UK) general practitioners (GPs) on the provision of high quality routine care for patients with chronic disease. The quality markers defined by the contract endorse the need for objective diagnosis and structured care recommended by the British Thoracic Society/Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (BTS-SIGN) guideline for the management of asthma and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guideline on the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this paper the key recommendations of these guidelines and their implementation in the pragmatic world of general practice are discussed, with specific focus on diagnosis, monitoring, management, self-management and delivery of care.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Primary Care, University of Aberdeen. hpinnock@gpiag-asthma.org
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pinnock
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D005194:Family Practice / Q000639:trends; D018575:Home Care Services, Hospital-Based / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D015272:Pulmonary Medicine / Q000639:trends*; D019141:Respiratory System Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012648:Self Care / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D019141:Respiratory System Agents