Gastroenterological Diseases and Family and Community Medicine

Abstract

Background: the Family Physician is a key figure in any health system that intends to follow the Primary Care Model defined at the Alma-Ata Conference in 1978. His actions are guided by commitment to the individual and focus on prevention and management of resources. His function is to diagnose and treat the most prevalent diseases until a more complex technology be required. The symptoms related to diseases of the digestive tract are very common complaints and as such part of the daily work of the general practitioner. Methods: A literature search for studies relating Family and Community Medicine (FCM) and gastroenterological diseases published over the last 30 years in English, Spanish or Portuguese was conducted in the bibliographic databases Pub Med, Lilacs, and Cochrane library. FCM and Internal Medicine Text-books were consulted as well. Results: great part of cases of epigastric pain, retroesternal burning, rectal bleeding and diarrhea could be completely resolved by the family and community physician. He is also qualified for looking after patients with stabilized chronic gastroenterological diseases such as viral hepatitis. Conclusions: The greater part of cases of gastroenterological complaints brought to the general practice consultation need not to be referred to a specialist and can be resolved at Primary Care level. As a consequence the health system is optimized, specialist consultations become less time-consuming; the positive predictive value of diagnostic proofs increases and there is less possibility of error in the secondary and tertiary levels.