Level of training and experience in physicians performing interhospital transfers of adult patients in the internal medicine department.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the level of training doctors who participate in interhospital transfers in Denmark.


METHODS
A questionnaire was sent to every hospital department in Denmark with acute internal medicine admissions.


RESULTS
Eighty-nine internal medicine departments were contacted and 84 responded (response rate 94.4%). Of the 84 hospitals, 75 (89.3%) indicated that they perform interhospital transfers. Most transfers were performed by interns (61.3%) or senior house officers (10.7%) with only a few months' experience in their current speciality. Training in interhospital transfer was offered by 24.0% of departments. When presented with cases of interhospital transfers of critically ill patients, 77.3% of the responders stated that their department would not follow guidelines when performing the transfer.


CONCLUSIONS
The gap between recommended professional standards and current practice shows a need to establish educational programmes in interhospital transfer.
Hallas
P
P
hallas@rocketmail.com
Folkestad
L
L
Brabrand
M
M
D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003718:Denmark; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006748:Hospital Departments / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards*; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires