Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Measuring general practitioner referrals: patient, workload and list size effects.

D Armstrong, N Britten, J Grace

    The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
    |November 1, 1988
    PubMed
    Summary

    General practitioners (GPs) vary in patient referral rates, impacting National Health Service (NHS) resources. Patient demographics explain some referral variation, but measurement methods significantly alter high referrer identification.

    Related Concept Videos

    You might also read

    Related Articles

    Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

    Sort by
    Same author

    Mycobacterium haemophilum infections in bone marrow transplant recipients.

    Transplantation·1995
    Same author

    Patients' views of priority setting in health care: an interview survey in one practice.

    BMJ (Clinical research ed.)·1995
    Same author

    Direct observations of surgical wound infections at a comprehensive cancer center.

    Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)·1995
    Same author

    Treatment of opportunistic infections in AIDS.

    Lancet (London, England)·1995
    Same author

    A corporate needs assessment for the purchase of district nursing: a qualitative approach.

    Public health·1995
    Same author

    Crouzon and Apert syndromes: intracranial volume measurements before and after cranio-orbital reshaping in childhood.

    Plastic and reconstructive surgery·1995

    Area of Science:

    • Health Services Research
    • General Practice
    • Healthcare Management

    Background:

    • Significant variation exists in patient referral rates among general practitioners (GPs).
    • High referral rates by some GPs are a concern due to disproportionate use of National Health Service (NHS) resources.
    • Understanding referral drivers is crucial for efficient healthcare resource allocation.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the variation in patient referral rates among GPs.
    • To determine the extent to which patient demographics influence referral numbers.
    • To compare different methods for calculating GP referral rates and their impact on identifying high referrers.

    Main Methods:

    • A one-week survey of referrals from 122 GPs in a single health district.

    Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of patient age-sex mix consulting individual GPs.
  • Calculation of referral rates using different denominators (workload vs. list size).

    • Main Results:

    • Patient age-sex mix accounted for approximately one-quarter of referral variations between GPs.
    • Different methods for calculating referral rates identified distinct groups of high referrers.
    • Referral rates varied significantly based on the denominator used (workload or list size).

    Conclusions:

    • Patient demographics partially explain referral variations but do not fully account for differences among GPs.
    • The method used to calculate referral rates critically influences the identification of high-referring GPs.
    • A referral rate based on actual referrals divided by mean practice list size is recommended for standardized comparisons.