title: General practitioner referrals to specialists.
abstract: A survey of referrals by general practitioners to medical specialists was carried out to determine current referral patterns, and to compare them with two earlier Australian studies. The mean referral rate was 6 per cent of all consultations, with the four most frequent specialty groups referred to being proceduralists. A comparison with two previous Australian surveys reveals minimal change in general practitioner referral patterns in 18 years. The need to study the appropriateness of general practitioner referrals further is stressed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Monash University.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schattner
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D006801:Humans; D008511:Medicine; D010821:Physicians, Family; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013038:Specialization