What question did this study set out to answer?

To assess primary care physicians' and specialists' perceptions of referral and consultation communication and identify practice characteristics linked to effective information exchange.

January 10, 2011Archives of Internal Medicine

Referral and Consultation Communication Between Primary Care and Specialist Physicians

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Authors

AOAnn S. O’MalleyMathematica Policy Research JRJames D. ReschovskyClinical Research Consultants (United States)

Discussion

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Implication

Survey analysis reveals widespread communication gaps between primary care physicians and specialists, indicating modifiable practice factors that can improve care coordination.

Key Points

To assess primary care physicians' and specialists' perceptions of referral and consultation communication and identify practice characteristics linked to effective information exchange.
Analyzed data from the nationally representative 2008 Center for Studying Health System Change Health Tracking Physician Survey (N=4,720).
Included physicians who provided at least 20 hours of direct patient care per week.
Evaluated self-reported frequencies of referral notifications, consultation notes, and associated clinical practice characteristics.
While 69.3% of primary care physicians reported sending patient histories and referral reasons routinely, only 34.8% of specialists reported receiving them.
Although 80.6% of specialists reported sending consultation results back routinely, only 62.2% of primary care physicians reported receiving this information.
Communication was significantly associated with adequate patient visit length, chronic condition quality reports, and nurse support for chronic disease monitoring.

Cite This Study

O’Malley et al. (2011) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69f4c6803970cbd40fd40490 https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2010.480

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Implication

Survey analysis reveals widespread communication gaps between primary care physicians and specialists, indicating modifiable practice factors that can improve care coordination.

Referral and Consultation Communication Between Primary Care and Specialist Physicians

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Referral and Consultation Communication Between Primary Care and Specialist Physicians

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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Also Consider