How valuable is feedback of information on hospital referral patterns?
OBJECTIVE
To determine general practitioners' responses to and explanations for variation in rates of referral to hospital and how feedback of data on rates of referral could be used to facilitate practices in auditing their own referral behaviour.


METHODS
Visits by audit facilitators to general practices after feedback of details of rates of referral to hospital derived from annual reports in general practice.


METHODS
92 general practices in East Anglia.


RESULTS
General practitioners judged that access to specialist care, the individual skill of general practitioners, patient demand, and fear of litigation were major determinants of referral behaviour. Because there was widespread scepticism about the accuracy of the data on which the feedback was based and because there is no clear relation between rates of referral and quality of care, it was extremely difficult to encourage doctors to use the feedback as a basis for auditing their own hospital referrals.


CONCLUSIONS
If general practitioners are to contribute meaningfully to monitoring future changes in referral patterns it will be essential to develop reliable information systems in which doctors have confidence. Furthermore, audits need to be based on analysis of clinical cases rather than on rates of referral.
de Marco
P
P
Department of General Practice, University of Manchester, Rusholme Health Centre.
Dain
C
C
Lockwood
T
T
Roland
M
M
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003657:Decision Making; D004739:England; D005194:Family Practice / Q000592:standards*; D005246:Feedback; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014600:Utilization Review