Allergy Management in Primary Care Systems

Allergic diseases impose a growing burden on health systems worldwide, with primary care serving as the first point of contact for most patients. Effective management in this setting hinges on timely recognition of symptoms, accurate risk stratification and judicious use of diagnostic tests. Primary care practitioners coordinate immunological investigations, initiate symptomatic treatments and determine when specialist referral is warranted. Innovations such as decision-support algorithms and integrated care pathways aim to reduce diagnostic delay and ensure consistent adherence to guidelines. Training and competency development for generalists have become priorities to address workforce gaps and variations in service provision. Patient-centred approaches, including patient-reported experience measures and enhanced communication with schools and community services, are increasingly embedded in models of care. The global challenge is to harmonise training, improve access to point-of-care diagnostics and integrate multidisciplinary resources to deliver safe, efficient and equitable allergy services at the community level.

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Allergy Management in Primary Care Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in allergy management in primary care systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Primary care practitioner: A frontline healthcare professional, often a general practitioner or family doctor, responsible for initial assessment and management of patients.

Specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE): An antibody measured in blood or via skin testing that indicates sensitisation to a particular allergen.

General Practitioner with Special Interest (GPwSI): A GP who has undertaken additional training to provide specialised care in a defined clinical area, such as allergy.

Allergy Management Support System (AMSS): A digital tool that integrates patient-completed questionnaires with test results to generate diagnostic and treatment recommendations for primary care use.

References

1. Systematic review of pathways for the delivery of allergy services. BMJ Open (2017).
2. The feasibility of an allergy management support system (AMSS) for IgE‐mediated allergy in primary care. Clinical and Translational Allergy (2018).
3. What proportion of adult allergy referrals to secondary care could be dealt with in primary care by a GP with special interest?. Clinical and Translational Allergy (2015).
4. New patient-reported experience measure for children with allergic disease: development, validation and results from integrated care. Archives of Disease in Childhood (2016).
5. Identification of core competencies for primary care of allergy patients using a modified Delphi technique. BMC Medical Education (2011).