[Patient satisfaction with assessment of headache by specialist consultation].
BACKGROUND
Headache is a common cause for referral of patients from a general practitioner to a neurologist. We have investigated patient satisfaction with neurological consultations for headache in Northern Norway.


METHODS
We sent a postal questionnaire to all patients referred for headache from general practice to departments of neurology in Northern Norway from 1998 to 2000.


RESULTS
Of 1403 patients, 942 (67%) responded to all relevant items in the questionnaire.160 of the patients were seen in Vefsn, 191 in Bodø and 591 in Tromsø. About 54% (510/942) of the patients were satisfied with the specialist consultation. Patients examined at the department in Bodø were significantly more satisfied (62 %) than patients examined in Tromsø (54%) or Vefsn (44%). Patients investigated in Tromsø reported improvement after treatment significantly more often than those seen in Vefsn. There was no difference in satisfaction between the three locations in the subgroup of patients with migraine. Patients who received a diagnosis or were given some kind of therapy were more content than others.


CONCLUSIONS
Almost half of the patients were not satisfied with the consultation. The degree of satisfaction varied between departments. More investigations are needed to clarify which patients with headache will benefit from a specialist consultation.
Bekkelund
Svein Ivar
SI
Nevrologisk avdeling, Universitetssykehuset Nord-Norge, 9038 Tromsø. svein.ivar.bekkelund@unn.no
Salvesen
Rolf
R
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020773:Headache Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires