BACKGROUND Because it is possible that part of the variability in frequency of interventions
and even in outcomes results from the variability in referral patterns of primary care …

■ OBJECTIVE To examine family physicians' referral decisions, which we conceptualized
as having 2 phases: whether to refer followed by to whom to refer.■ STUDYDESIGN …

* OBJECTIVE We tested the hypothesis that the frequency with which patients present to
primary care physicians with certain types of health problems is inversely related to the …

A one-month study of all consultations and referrals to medical specialists and other
community resources made by 39 family physi cians was undertaken in London, Ontario, in …

Objectives To describe how physicians coordinate patient care for specialty referrals and to
examine the effects of these activities on referring physicians' satisfaction with the specialty …

Introduction: Variability in the referral patterns of primary care physicians is well established.
The objective of this study was to determine which factors have the most impact on a family …

PURPOSE This study describes referral completion from the perspectives of patients and
primary care physicians and identifies predictors of adherence to the referral …

Background Hospital referral rates have received widespread attention for both clinical and
economic reasons. Objectives This study was undertaken to find out the views of general …

Objective: To examine the effect of patient characteristics and comorbidity on referrals in
primary care. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of patient encounters and referrals during a …

There are many unexplained differences in the rates at which general practitioners make
referrals to other medical specialists. This study investigated 17 586 referrals from 141 …