How do general practitioners and specialists value their mutual communication? A survey

Area of Science:

• Healthcare communication
• Medical practice management
• Interprofessional collaboration

Background:

• Effective communication between general practitioners (GPs) and specialists is vital for timely and appropriate patient care.
• Current communication primarily relies on phone, letters, email, and postgraduate training.
• Research has focused on communication content, but procedural aspects remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how GPs and specialists perceive their mutual communication via telephone, letters, and postgraduate courses.
• To identify discrepancies in the assessment of communication procedures between GPs and specialists.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted.
• A random sample of 550 GPs and 533 specialists in the Netherlands participated.
• Response rates were 47% for GPs (n=259) and 44% for specialists (n=232).

Main Results:

• Specialists rated GP telephone accessibility as poor, contrary to GPs' self-assessment.
• Discrepancies exist in perceptions of referral letter quality and specialist response to GP queries.
• GPs and specialists reported low rates of mutual feedback despite a shared desire for it.

Conclusions:

• Significant disagreements between GPs and specialists on communication aspects impede healthcare improvements.
• GP telephone accessibility and specialist report timeliness are potential performance indicators.
• Joint discussions are needed to standardize referral letters, specialist reports, and feedback mechanisms.