Improving care: a study of orthopaedic outpatient referrals
| Autor: | G W Simonds, Martin Roland, B Bewley, R W Porter, J G Matthews, J F Redden |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 1991 |
| Předmět: |
Waiting time
medicine.medical_specialty Outpatient Clinics Hospital Referral Waiting Lists Attitude of Health Personnel Referral letter Orthopaedic clinic Health Services Accessibility Surveys and Questionnaires medicine Humans Royal infirmary Child Referral and Consultation General Environmental Science business.industry Public health General Engineering Attendance General Medicine Consumer Behavior Orthopedics England Family medicine Orthopedic surgery General Earth and Planetary Sciences Management Audit business Family Practice Research Article |
| Popis: | OBJECTIVE--To identify aspects of outpatient referral in which general practitioners9, consultants9, and patients9 satisfaction could be improved. DESIGN--Questionnaire survey of general practitioners, consultant orthopaedic surgeons, and patients referred to an orthopaedic clinic. SETTING--Orthopaedic clinic, Doncaster Royal Infirmary. SUBJECTS--628 consecutive patients booked into the orthopaedic clinic. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Views of the general practitioners as recorded both when the referral letter was received and again after the patient had been seen, views of the consultants as recorded at the time of the clinic attendance, and views of the patients as recorded immediately after the clinic visit and some time later. RESULTS--Consultants rated 213 of 449 referrals (42.7%) as possibly or definitely inappropriate, though 373 of 451 patients (82.7%) reported that they were helped by seeing the consultant. Targets for possible improvement included information to general practitioners about available services, communication between general practitioners and consultants, and administrative arrangements in clinics. Long waiting times were a problem, and it seemed that these might be reduced if general practitioners could provide more advice on non-surgical management. Some general practitioners stated that they would value easier telephone access to consultants for management advice. It was considered that an alternative source of management advice on musculoskeletal problems might enable more effective use to be made of specialist orthopaedic resources. Conclusion--A survey of patients9 and doctors9 views of referrals may be used to identify aspects in which the delivery of care could be made more efficient. Developing agreed referral guidelines might help general practitioners to make more effective use of hospital services. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|