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The Referral Process and Outpatient System. Second Report: Interviews with General Practitioners

Dowie, Robin (1981) The Referral Process and Outpatient System. Second Report: Interviews with General Practitioners. Centre for Health Services Studies, 192 pp. (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:24858)

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Abstract

This report is about the referral process and it analyses material recorded in interviews with 45 general practitioners. Data collected from the general medicine clinics and pathology and radiology departments of a

district general hospital in south east England were presented in the First Reportl

The interviewed doctors had differing patterns of medical practice for certain endocrine diseases which traditionally have been referred to hospital. Variations were also observed in the doctors' clinical judgement when working-up similar cases, particularly in their use of biochemistry

work. The pathology data in the First Report confirmed these

differing patterns of use. Increased waiting times for barium studies mainly affected the doctors when they suspected a patient of having a malignancy. There were different ways of coping. Some telephoned the

consultant radiologists to arrange an urgent appointment while others referred the patient direct to the outpatient clinic. There was, as well, a group of doctors who were routinely substituting barium meals with gastroscopy referrals. The interviewed doctors in general though, did not want open access to the gastroscopy service.

Item Type: Research report (external)
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Centre for Health Services Studies
Depositing User: Tony Rees
Date Deposited: 26 Oct 2010 14:59 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:03 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/24858 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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