The book provides a summary of results from the 13th year of the BEACH program, a continuing national study of general practice activity in Australia.

From April 2010 to March 2011, 958 general practitioners recorded details about 95,800 GP-patient encounters, at which patients presented 149,005 reasons for encounter and 146,141 problems were managed. For an 'average' 100 problems managed, GPs recorded: 69 medications (including 56 prescribed, seven supplied to the patient and six advised for over-the-counter purchase); 11 procedures; 23 clinical treatments (advice and counselling); six referrals to specialists and three to allied health services; orders for 30 pathology tests and six imaging tests.

A subsample study of more than 31,000 patients suggests prevalence of measured risk factors in the attending adult (18 years and over) patient population were: obese - 27 per cent; overweight - 35 per cent; daily smoking - 15 per cent; at-risk alcohol consumption - 25 per cent. One in five people in the attending population had at least two of these risk factors.

A companion publication, A Decade of Australian General Practice Activity 2001-02 to 2010-11 is also available.

Contributions by: Joan Henderson, Clare Bayram