For General Practitioners

If you want to participate as a GP in this study please contact associate professor Ronny Gunnarsson by phone or e-mail.

Participating General Practitioners in Innisfail, Atherton, Mareeba, Cairns, Kuranda and Port Douglas Australia are expected to screen patients to see if they fit inclusion criteria. Patients attending a participating GP who are diagnosed as having an acute otitis externa are noted with age and gender on a “GP screening sheet” where each row in the screening sheet represents one patient. All patients diagnosed with otitis externa are registered on the screening sheet.

They are asked if they accept being evaluated for participation in a study. A suggested introduction would be “There is a study going on at James Cook University concerning a new treatment of this type of ear inflammation. Your case may be suitable. May I ask a few questions to see if you fit the inclusion criteria? If you do you will be given more information before deciding to participate.” If they do say no nothing more needs to be done.

If they say yes follow the instructions on the “inclusion sheet” where there is one sheet for each patient. Begin by asking the patient to state their level of pain right now using the Visual Analogue Scale. Then tick the appropriate boxes and note the unique ID number of the “inclusion sheet” on the GP screening sheet. If they do not fulfil the inclusion criteria retain the inclusion sheet (to be picked up later). If they fulfil the inclusion criteria give the inclusion sheet and any written prescription you may have given to the patient and also give the patient the “list with specified pharmacists”. These pharmacists will give the patient further written information, ask for participation and give patients accepting a written consent form to sign.

Below is a video showing an example of how this screening may look like. The conversation can vary as long as the screening sheet and the inclusion sheets are used.

Complete written information to participating GPs version 09-07-2014

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