§ 11. General practitioner

The National Health Service system rests on a network of family doctors, or:<GPs> with attached nurses. People may register with any GPsthey choose. A GP with a full register might refuse extra patient.

GPs remain the backbone of the NHS, dealing with the vast majority of ailments, or notifying the health visitor.

Except in am emergencv. it is normally the GP who refers a patient to hospital for more specialist care. On examining the patient he asks about his troubles. A GP listens to the patient's heart and lungs, also feels his pulse and takes his blood pressure.

The strength of the system lies in a good working knowledge of the families and individuals in the catchment's area, lifestyle and employment conditions. Almost all GPs now operate in small groups, so that they can share the administrative load and also offer a wider service.

§12. Case history

When a new patient is admitted to the hospital, his medical problems will be worked up by the hospital team. The initial work up will consist of the following: the patient's medical history, a complete physical examination, documentation of this information in the patient's chart.

The medical history: the history of the present illness begins with a statement of the patients age, race, sex and chief complaint. In this description include the location, the intensity, the quality, the duration, and any frequency of these complaints. Ask about any associated symptoms.

Next obtain and document the following systematic data:

Having recorded all these data, should proceed to physical examination. Inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation are the unalterable everyday applicable quartet. After physical examination the physician makes an initial diagnosis which must be confirmed by laboratory findings. The most common laboratory procedures are cardiography, X-ray and ultrasonic examination, biopsy and blood and testing.

§13. At the pharmacy

When one receives a prescription from the doctor or follows a home treatment he needs medicines, which can be bought at the pharmacy. There are usually two departments in the pharmacy: the chemists department and the prescription department. At the chemists department the drugs can be bought right on the spot. At the prescription department youll have to wait until the medicine is made according to the doctors administrations. All medicines are originally classified by chemical group. The chemists usually divides the drugs into groups according to common ailments. Some pharmacies also have a special homeopathic department.

§14. A healthy lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle is defined as one that gives an individual his or her optimal level of physical or mental health. Health is a condition of physical, mental and social well-being and implies the absence of disease. Health status can be assessed by measuring life expectancy, mortality rates, illnesses and disabilities. Lung cancer is a typical example of a reduction in smoking.

Healthy nutrition requires appropriate dietary intake of energy in the form of macronutrients. Lifestyle factors such as level of physical activity, stress, smoking and alcohol consumption also affect nutrient requirements.

Physical inactivity confers a substantial public health burden. People who are physically active tend to be healthier than their sedentary peers.

Сigarette smoking in combination with alcohol intake significantly increases the risk. The serious adverse effects on the health may result in addiction with consequential social and mental problems