This RCT 1  enrolled 437 secondary care patients aged ≥65 years (mean 75) with CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores ≥2 in men and ≥3 in women. Participants were assigned to 6-month (180-day) monitoring, using an Apple smartwatch with photoplethysmography and single-lead ECG functions, or to standard care.  Over 6 months, atrial fibrillation (AF) was detected in 21 patients (9.6%) in the intervention group versus 5 (2.3%) in controls. Several asymptomatic AF episodes were identified only in th

Enhance your Dermatology Expertise: Join Our Online Session on Saturday, 16 May. Skin conditions are among the most frequent presentations in primary care. This 4-hour webinar brings together top New Zealand dermatology specialists to help you navigate these complexities with confidence. What to expect: Expert-led, primary care–focused updates on recognising and managing common dermatology presentations seen in everyday practice. Practical guidance on diagnosing and treating

Our latest webinars and podcasts for you:  Whole of life protection: A focus on adult vaccination WEBINAR 14 April: Nikki Turner on the importance of adult immunisation as part of comprehensive preventive care in primary practice.  Register here   Redefining insomnia management WEBINAR 21 April: David Cunnington, a specialist sleep physician, will review contemporary insomnia management, including CBT-I, and discuss the role of medications, including lemborexant, a newer agen

The benefit of beta‑blockers after myocardial infarction in patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF ≥50%) is uncertain. This individual‑patient meta‑analysis combined five open‑label randomised trials, including 17,801 patients without other indications for beta-blockers 1 .  Participants were assigned to beta‑blocker therapy or no therapy, and the primary outcome was a composite of all‑cause death, myocardial infarction, or heart failure. After a med

Hurry and secure your place this weekend We invite all primary care professionals to New Zealand’s premier professional development event for general practice and primary care. Event Overview: 📅 March 2026 21-22 Due Drop Events Centre, Manukau Programme highlights : Hear from leading experts and our partners the Royal NZ College of GPs, the Royal NZ College of Urgent Care, and Allevia Hospitals - with a line-up that blends essential updates, fresh perspectives, and practice-

A randomized trial compared oral ivermectin with 5% permethrin for treating scabies in index cases and household clusters of up to eight people 1 . Ivermectin 200 µg/kg was taken with food on days 0 and 10, while permethrin was applied head-to-toe, including hair, genitalia, and children’s faces, left on overnight, and washed off after at least eight hours. Emollients and textile decontamination were advised. Children under 15 kg received permethrin only.  Cluster-level cur

Just over 3 weeks to go!  Goodfellow Symposium 2026 In the meantime, here are our latest webinars and podcasts:  Sexuality & Intimacy Workshop FACE-TO-FACE WORKSHOP in AUCKLAND 26 & 27 February: Join Allyson Waite for a 2-day workshop designed to extend your knowledge regarding sexuality and intimacy.   Register here   Whole of life protection: A focus on adult vaccination WEBINAR 3 March: Nikki Turner on the importance of adult immunisation as part of comprehensive preventi

Breakfast with a show! On both days of the Symposium, we'll serve breakfast alongside great talks. Your only challenge will be deciding which to go to.On Saturday morning you have a choice of: Winter readiness: Respiratory management essentials, with James Wethasinghe Moving our A into G for CKM health, with Walaa Saweirs Sunday's offering: Cardiovascular risk after COPD exacerbations in NZ and the role of triple therapy, with Jeff Harrison and William Good The 6th Anniversar

This meta-analysis included pooled data from 51 trials involving 358,325 participants, of whom 4.4% had isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) 1 .  Over 4.2 years, reducing systolic pressure by 5 mmHg lowered major cardiovascular events to a similar degree in people with and without IDH. Treatment effects did not vary by baseline diastolic pressure, cardiovascular history, age, prior medication, or measurement method.  The study found no evidence that BP-lowering therapy is mo

A systematic review in The Lancet 1  outlined the cardiometabolic issues with antidepressants.There were a few surprises: None had significant QT interval issues.  Systolic BP went up with amitriptyline and fluoxetine and down with nortriptyline.  Weight loss was observed with bupropion, sertraline, citalopram, paroxetine, and venlafaxine.  Weight gain was found with amitriptyline 1.6 kg and mirtazapine 0.87 kg. Heart rate increased (beats per minute) to 13.77 for nortriptyli

Allevia Hospitals is one of New Zealand’s largest private surgical hospital providers, with leading medical specialists.  Here's their team for the Symposium, ready to provide you with thorough and timely updates across a wide range of topics – from understanding perimenopausal bleeding patterns, weight-loss medication, managing nasal symptoms, to diagnosing and treating Anterior Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome (ACNES): Wal Baraza | Jacob Munro | Craig Ball | Nadya York |

Less than 8 weeks to go!  Goodfellow Symposium 2026 In the meantime, here are our latest webinars and podcasts:  Adult ADHD: From diagnosis to long-term management WEBINAR 3 February, 7.30pm: Join Psychiatrist David Codyre who will provide practical guidance on continuing ADHD care once treatment has begun.  Register here   Ovarian cancer: diagnosis to treatment WEBINAR 10 February, 7.30pm: Join Gynae-Oncologist Cecile Bergzoll on offering practical guidance to ovarian cancer

Te Whata Kura is the new national antimicrobial guideline. It includes revised guidance around: Cellulitis, irrespective of patient BMI, 1000mg Flucloxacillin QID with food for 5 days. Cystitis, uncomplicated: Nitrofurantoin (Micronised version trade name Macrobid), so as not to confuse with the regular Nitrofurantoin and underdose the patient (100 mg BD for 5 days with food). Adult unilateral otitis media and no severe symptoms no antibiotics needed. Adult bilateral otitis m

In this study of 200 patients with recurrent AF, patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either regular caffeinated coffee consumption or complete abstinence from coffee and caffeine for 6 months 1 . The consumption group was encouraged to drink at least one cup daily, while the abstinence group avoided all caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and other caffeine products. Baseline intake was 7 cups per week in both groups. During follow-up, the median intake was 7 (

In this RCT, 382 children aged 5-15 years with asthma using budesonide 50 μg-formoterol 3 μg, two actuations as needed, equivalent to 1 puff Symbicort 100/6 or Vannair 100/6, were compared to salbutamol 100 ug as needed. 1 The primary outcome was asthma attacks as rate per participant per year. The annualised rate of asthma attacks was lower in the budesonide-formoterol group than in the salbutamol group, cluster-adjusted rates 0·23 versus 0·41 per participant per year (rela

As we come to the end of 2025, we want to thank you for being part of an extraordinary year. Together with your peers, you contributed to 25,000 webinar registrations, 60,000 podcast downloads, and 12,000 eLearning starts. In 2026, we’re committed to bringing you even more premium content created to empower primary care professionals. And we’re starting as we mean to go on, with:  Adult ADHD: From diagnosis to long-term management WEBINAR 3 February, 7.30pm: Join Psychiatrist

In a paper by Walsh et al, 1  there was concern expressed that excess body weight (EBW) contributes to many cancers in New Zealand, compounding health inequities with higher proportions of EBW-attributable cancers within Māori and Pacific populations. Pacific peoples had the highest population attributable fraction (PAF) (11.8%), and this was highest among Pacific females (16.1%). Māori also had a higher PAF (6.9%) than European/Other (4.5%). Early detection and prevention ar

Coming up in CPD:  Tricky question... What do Ralph Stewart, Samantha Newman, Ben Chan, Hannah Giles, Ryan Paul, Buzz Burrell (and about 60 others) all have in common? Here's the answer   Post-partum hypertension; practical management WEBINAR 2 December: Dr Jamie Kitt, dual accredited Cardiology & General Internal Medicine Consultant on how to achieve optimal blood pressure control in women puerperium.  Register here   Cannabis-based products The March Medicines Amendment Act

Smarter consults, better care: What to expect at the 2026 Symposium Need a fast and simple toolkit for mental health consults? Sophie Ball can help with that. Insomnia: a very common complaint within general practice. Alex Bartle will walk us through medication options and strategies to deliver some behavioural treatments within a short consultation. Prostate cancer care is changing fast. Discover how to lead smarter testing, engage in better conversations, and follow up more

A 2025 BMJ review found that a range of exercises were helpful for knee osteoarthritis 1 . The findings demonstrated that exercise was effective at improving pain, function, gait performance, and quality of life in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. There is a lack of studies comparing different types of exercise. None of the exercise interventions resulted in more adverse safety events than the control group, suggesting that exercise therapy is a safe treatment approach.