Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Impact of guidelines on GP management

Background This program examined the impact of clinical guidelines and a 3 year self audit process on general practitioners' diagnosis and management of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Methods Nine hundred and sixty-six Australian GPs participated in a retrospective five step clinical audit reporting on data for 28 622 patients. Results General practitioners demonstrated significant improvements in their diagnosis and management of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease across the audit period, including: ‚Äö a significant 3% decrease in use of endoscopy ‚Äö improved GP assessment and identification of risk factors and exacerbants ‚Äö significant increases in GP recommendations for patient weight loss and dietary change (7 and 10% respectively) ‚Äö a significant 4% reduction in patient use of medications that may exacerbate reflux symptoms. Discussion The findings provide a snapshot of current diagnostic and management practices in Australian general practice, and highlight the benefits of clinical audit as a tool for eliciting evidence based, guideline driven practice change.