New Zealand general practitioners' non-urgent referrals to surgeons: who and why?
N Z Med J
; 121(1275): 57-64, 2008 Jun 06.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-18551154
ABSTRACT
AIM:
To describe the clinical and demographic characteristics of patients referred by general practitioners (GPs) to both public and private sectors for non-urgent surgical assessment.METHOD:
During 2004, a cohort of 1420 adult patients with the potential to benefit from elective surgery was recruited into the study by their GPs. GPs recorded patient demographics and reasons for referral.RESULTS:
345 out of 828 eligible GPs (42%) agreed to participate in the study and submitted data on 1603 referrals, 2.4 referrals per reporting week. After excluding ACC cases, data on 1420 referrals were analysed. Forty-two percent of those referred were male and 69% were European New Zealanders. The mean age was 55 years. The largest number of referrals were made to general surgery (37%), followed by orthopaedics (19%), gynaecology (12%), and plastic surgery (10%). The modal level of urgency was "routine" and in 24% of cases cancer was a possibility. The GP felt surgery was needed in 47% of cases, while in 73%, assistance with diagnosis and management was sought. In only 3% of eligible cases was no referral made.CONCLUSION:
Elective surgical referral makes up a significant proportion of GP workload. In more than half of cases advice on diagnosis or management, rather than surgery, was sought, and in nearly two-thirds the patient was aged less than 65 years. Cancer control was a relatively frequent goal of referral. The very small number of cases where a desired referral was not made suggests that GP and patient expectations are adjusted to service capacity.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Encaminhamento e Consulta
/
Procedimentos Cirúrgicos Eletivos
/
Medicina de Família e Comunidade
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
Limite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
N Z Med J
Ano de publicação:
2008
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Nova Zelândia
País de publicação:
NEW ZEALAND
/
NOVA ZELÂNDIA
/
NUEVA ZELANDA
/
NZ