General Practice

Contact Details

Title	Head of Department
Address	General Practice Department of General Practice 1st Floor, Brookfield Health Sciences Building University College Cork Cork
Telephone:	353 (0)21 4901572
Fax:	353 (0)21 4901605
Email:	ei.ccu@yeldarB.C

Biography:

The Department of General Practice was established in June 1997 with the appointment of Colin Bradley to the Chair. Prior to his appointment UCC had an involvement with postgraduate training in general practice as a participant (along with the Southern Health Board) in the management of the Cork Vocational Training Programme for General Practice. Responsibility for undergraduate teaching in general practice had, until 1997, been vested in the former Department of Social Medicine. With Professor Bradley's appointment this is set to expand 

As an academic in a generalist discipline my research has necessarily been somewhat diverse in the topics I have addressed.  However, underpinning all of my research has been a desire to contribute to the understanding of how the quality of clinical care delivered by general practitioners to their patients can be improved.  Within this rather broad theme I have had a particular interest and focus on issues pertaining to how general practitioners use medicines and how the application of pharmacotherapy in general practice can be improved.  Medicines are used in a short term fashion to treat self limiting illness and the commonest type of medicines used in this way are antimicrobials.  Thus, I have undertaken several research projects on antibiotoic use in general practice and one of the two large projects on which I am the principal investigator is in this area.  Medicines are also used on a continuing basis in the management of long term or chronic illness but as part and parcel of a broad range of interventions aimed at maintaining the health of patients with such illnesses.  Thus, the other large project on which I am the principal investigator is concerned with the organisation of care for patients with diabetes mellitus and, in particular the potential contribution of a national register of patients with diabetes in improving the quality of diabetes care.  Diabetes, though, is just one chronic illness, albeit a good exemplar, for how chronic diseases in general might be managed in primary care.  Within the broader theme of research to improve the quality of general practice care I have supported work of other colleagues within the department and within the Medical School on diabetes care, educational initiatives with general practitioners, comparative health systems research, and research on doctor-patient communication.  I have also been involved as a collaborator with colleagues in other institutions on projects relating to the quality of general practitioner care and medicines use/ prescribing ¿ particularly the Irish College of General Practioners and NUI,G.