General practitioner outpatient referrals: do good doctors refer more patients to hospital?

Gwendolyn Reynolds · Jaydeep Chitnis · Martin Roland

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Healthcare Systems and Technology Primary Care and Health Outcomes Healthcare cost, quality, practices

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between general practitioners' referral rates to individual specialties and the individual areas of expertise of the referring doctors. DESIGN: Data collected on referral patterns in one group practice over nine months. SETTING: General practice in suburban Birmingham consisting of five partners and a trainee. RESULTS: In 395 referrals there were large differences in referral patterns among partners for otorhinolaryngology, ophthalmology, general surgery, and dermatology. The doctors with particular expertise in otorhinolaryngology and ophthalmology had high referral rates to those specialties, and these differences persisted after allowing for case mix. CONCLUSION: A high referral rate does not necessarily imply a high level of inappropriate referral.

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References

1982Small-Area Variations in the Use of Common Surgical Procedures: An International Comparison of New England, England, and Norway 1989General practitioners' referrals to specialist outpatient clinics. I. Why general practitioners refer patients to specialist outpatient clinics.1987Explaining Variation in General Practitioner Referrals to Hospital

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