Top Articles in Primary Care

This book reviews, in one place, the breadth of articles that form the basis for the current practice of medicine. When physicians examine medical literature, there are articles that are quoted over and over again, as well as articles that have established the standards that are so embedded that we no longer think of where those standards came from. When clinicians treat patients with diabetes, why do we aim for an A1c less than 7%? That standard comes primarily from two trials, the DPPT and the UKPDS trial, both of which broke new ground when they were published. In addition, the ACCORD trial informed us that a lower A1c goal does not improve outcomes, and may in fact lead to worse outcomes. Understanding these trials helps physicians to make better decisions for their patients and gives them a greater appreciation for the information they work with every day.

The chapters are organized by system such as respiratory, cardiovascular, diabetes, etc. and within each system, in the chronological order of publication. Each article reviewed includes a succinct overview of methodology and the results, followed by a discussion that puts the results into clinical context. All articles are selected and chapters written by primary care physicians who understand what is relevant to the intended audience for the book.

Written by experts in the field, Top Articles Every Clinician Should Know provides readers with one source where information can be found about the most important articles published in the medical literature that informs the way clinicians practice primary care today.

Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine

Program Director

Family Medicine Residency Program

Jefferson Health- Abington

Jenkintown, PA, USA

Neil Skolnik, MD, is an academic family physician who sees patients and teaches residents and medical students in the family medicine residency program at Jefferson Health- Abington in Abington, Pennsylvania. He is a Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Associate Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program at Abington Jefferson Health. Dr. Skolnik has written and edited 5 books: On the Ledge: A Doctor's Stories From the Inner City; Essential Practice Guidelines for Primary Care; Essential Infectious Disease Topics for Primary Care; Sexually Transmitted Diseases for Primary Care; and Electronic Medical Records: A Practical Guide for Primary Care. He was the series editor for fifteen years overseeing the development of over twenty-five titles in the Humana Press Current Clinical Practice in Primary Care series of medical textbooks and has published more than 400 articles, columns, poems, essays and webinars in both the medical and lay literature on a diverse range of subjects including diabetes, asthma, COPD, hyperlipidemia, guideline-based medical care, technology in medicine, and the medical humanities. He served on the Expert Panel Report 4 (EPR-4) Working Group, National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee, National Heart Lung Blood Institute (NHLBI), and is on the Primary Care Advisory Committee for the American Diabetes Association. Dr. Skolnik lectures nationally on a range of topics, with a special interest in diabetes, asthma, COPD, exercise in medicine, and coronary disease risk factor management. He also hosts and produces "Diabetes Core Update," the American Diabetes Association's official monthly podcast reviewing the most important new articles to come out in the diabetes literature every month, and hosts the Infectious Diseases Society of America's guidelines podcast series.