Procedures in pediatric primary care: first do no harm

Two important considerations arise from this IJHPR article from Zimmerman and colleagues. First, is the question regarding what can be considered a “common” procedure in primary care and whether the designation can or should change over time. The second issue is whether it is enough for a doctor to feel comfortable doing a procedure for it to be within their scope of practice, or whether the practice specific outcome for the procedure in terms of safety and efficacy is a more relevant determination of whether the procedure should be performed in a given setting. In other words, just because a doctor “can” or “wants” to do a procedure, may not mean they “should” do a procedure.