📄 Category

primary care research

32 papers

Primary care research focuses on the everyday health challenges faced by communities, bridging the gap between specialized medical knowledge and the doctors who treat patients in local clinics. This field explores how to prevent illness, manage chronic conditions, and improve patient outcomes directly where people seek help. On Gist.Science, we make these vital studies easier to understand by breaking down complex findings into clear, actionable insights for everyone.

Every new preprint in this category comes directly from medRxiv, the leading repository for health sciences research. Our team processes each fresh submission to provide both a simple, plain-language overview and a detailed technical summary, ensuring you grasp the full context without getting lost in jargon. Below are the latest papers in primary care research, freshly summarized and ready for your review.

📄 primary care research

Travel Time as a Predictor of Missed Appointments and Telemedicine Utilization in a Rural Outpatient Clinic: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Observational Study

This retrospective study of a rural Pacific Northwest clinic found that longer travel times significantly increase in-person appointment cancellations while driving higher telemedicine utilization, which maintains consistent adherence rates across all distance groups, thereby highlighting telehealth as an effective solution for geographic barriers to care.

Graves, P., Jacobsen, C., Ho, A., Johnson, D., Weaver, D.2026-03-25
📄 primary care research

Priority topics for preconception care in general practice: a consensus study

This consensus study involving UK primary care practitioners and people of reproductive age identified four priority topic areas—patient knowledge, ideas and concerns, health conditions, and health behaviors—to guide structured, opportunistic preconception care discussions in general practice.

Schoenaker, D., Lovegrove, E., Santer, M., Matvienko-Sikar, K., Carr, H., Alwan, N. A., Kubelabo, L., Davies, N., Godfre (…)2026-03-23
📄 primary care research

The impact of patient ethnicity on cancer incidence following platelet count and C-reactive protein tests in English primary care: a cohort study of 5 million patients

This large cohort study of 5 million patients in England found that while overall cancer incidence following abnormal platelet or CRP tests was highest among White patients and similar diagnostic odds ratios were observed across ethnic groups, Black patients exhibited significantly higher diagnostic odds ratios for colorectal cancer specifically, highlighting the critical need for ethnically diverse cohorts to prevent widening healthcare inequalities.

Barlow, M., Down, L., Mounce, L., Merriel, S. W. D., Watson, J., Martins, T. O., Bailey, S. E.2026-03-04
📄 primary care research

Smart stethoscope for cardiac auscultation in general practice: a prospective feasibility study of AI-assisted detection of atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and valvular heart disease

This prospective feasibility study demonstrates that AI-enabled digital stethoscopes are a practical and effective tool for detecting atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and valvular heart disease in routine general practice, achieving high rates of analyzable recordings with minimal workflow disruption.

Harskamp, R. E.2026-02-23
📄 primary care research

Cohort study investigating the natural history and management of sore throat and tonsillitis among adults in UK general practice

This UK cohort study reveals that while recurrent sore throat in adults is relatively uncommon, current tonsillectomy practices are poorly aligned with disease burden and exhibit significant socioeconomic inequities, highlighting a need for better identification of high-risk patients and more timely surgical intervention.

Finnikin, S., OHara, J., Marshall, T.2026-02-17
📄 primary care research

A 'Silent Trial' Assessing the Accuracy of Large Language Models for Assisting Community Health Workers in Low-Resource Settings

This study evaluating Large Language Models in Rwanda found that while OpenAI's o3 matched the high referral accuracy of local community health workers, Google's Gemini Flash 2.5 performed poorly, suggesting that model selection is critical and that LLMs may offer limited immediate benefit in well-established programs but could support less mature initiatives.

Shimelash, N., Rutunda, S., Menon, V., Emmanual-Fabula, M., Uwimbabazi, A., Rugege, C., Nshimiyimana, C., Rwema, I., Kan (…)2026-02-17
📄 primary care research

Teleconferencing as an alternative to written Advice and Guidance referrals at the primary-secondary care interface: a qualitative case study

This qualitative case study suggests that teleconferencing serves as a promising alternative to written Advice and Guidance referrals by enhancing GP-specialist relationships, improving patient care continuity, and reducing unnecessary outpatient referrals, though further research is needed to confirm its cost-effectiveness and long-term sustainability.

He, S., Usher-Smith, J., Martin, G.2026-02-16