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Danish general practitioners as gatekeepers for gynaecological patients in regions with different density of resident specialists in gynaecology: in which situations and to whom do they refer? A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: There are large differences in the density of Resident Specialists in Gynaecology (RSG) in the various regions of Denmark. It is unknown if this inequality affects the General Practitioner (GP) referral patterns of gynaecological patients. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the GP referral patter...

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Autores principales: Laschke, Alexander D. L., Blaakær, Jan, Jensen, Charlotte Floridon, Larsen, Mette Bach
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Taylor & Francis 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10088933/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36633427
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2023.2165085
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author Laschke, Alexander D. L.
Blaakær, Jan
Jensen, Charlotte Floridon
Larsen, Mette Bach
author_facet Laschke, Alexander D. L.
Blaakær, Jan
Jensen, Charlotte Floridon
Larsen, Mette Bach
author_sort Laschke, Alexander D. L.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: There are large differences in the density of Resident Specialists in Gynaecology (RSG) in the various regions of Denmark. It is unknown if this inequality affects the General Practitioner (GP) referral patterns of gynaecological patients. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the GP referral patterns of gynaecological patients to the RSG or to the Hospital/Outpatient Clinic (HOC) in specific situations according to the regional density of RSGs. Moreover, to examine whether GPs prefer to refer to the HOC or to the RSG, or whether they were treated by the GP depending on the density of RSGs, specifically, in six benign gynaecological diagnoses. DESIGN: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. SETTING: In Denmark, GPs serve as gatekeepers to secondary care, being responsible for referrals to resident specialists and in- and outpatient hospital care. SUBJECTS: Five hundred Danish GPs were randomly selected and invited to take part in the questionnaire study. Main outcome measurements: Referral patterns: Own treatment, RSG, or HOC. RESULTS: GPs prefer to refer their gynaecologic patients to RSGs rather than to HOCs. In addition, the study shows the higher the density of RSGs, the more gynaecological patients are referred to the RSG. This also applies to the six diagnoses examined. CONCLUSION: To allow patients’ equal access to specialist care, the density of RSGs must be equal all over the country.
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spelling pubmed-100889332023-04-12 Danish general practitioners as gatekeepers for gynaecological patients in regions with different density of resident specialists in gynaecology: in which situations and to whom do they refer? A cross-sectional study Laschke, Alexander D. L. Blaakær, Jan Jensen, Charlotte Floridon Larsen, Mette Bach Scand J Prim Health Care Research Articles BACKGROUND: There are large differences in the density of Resident Specialists in Gynaecology (RSG) in the various regions of Denmark. It is unknown if this inequality affects the General Practitioner (GP) referral patterns of gynaecological patients. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the GP referral patterns of gynaecological patients to the RSG or to the Hospital/Outpatient Clinic (HOC) in specific situations according to the regional density of RSGs. Moreover, to examine whether GPs prefer to refer to the HOC or to the RSG, or whether they were treated by the GP depending on the density of RSGs, specifically, in six benign gynaecological diagnoses. DESIGN: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. SETTING: In Denmark, GPs serve as gatekeepers to secondary care, being responsible for referrals to resident specialists and in- and outpatient hospital care. SUBJECTS: Five hundred Danish GPs were randomly selected and invited to take part in the questionnaire study. Main outcome measurements: Referral patterns: Own treatment, RSG, or HOC. RESULTS: GPs prefer to refer their gynaecologic patients to RSGs rather than to HOCs. In addition, the study shows the higher the density of RSGs, the more gynaecological patients are referred to the RSG. This also applies to the six diagnoses examined. CONCLUSION: To allow patients’ equal access to specialist care, the density of RSGs must be equal all over the country. Taylor & Francis 2023-01-12 /pmc/articles/PMC10088933/ /pubmed/36633427 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2023.2165085 Text en © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research Articles
Laschke, Alexander D. L.
Blaakær, Jan
Jensen, Charlotte Floridon
Larsen, Mette Bach
Danish general practitioners as gatekeepers for gynaecological patients in regions with different density of resident specialists in gynaecology: in which situations and to whom do they refer? A cross-sectional study
title Danish general practitioners as gatekeepers for gynaecological patients in regions with different density of resident specialists in gynaecology: in which situations and to whom do they refer? A cross-sectional study
title_full Danish general practitioners as gatekeepers for gynaecological patients in regions with different density of resident specialists in gynaecology: in which situations and to whom do they refer? A cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Danish general practitioners as gatekeepers for gynaecological patients in regions with different density of resident specialists in gynaecology: in which situations and to whom do they refer? A cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Danish general practitioners as gatekeepers for gynaecological patients in regions with different density of resident specialists in gynaecology: in which situations and to whom do they refer? A cross-sectional study
title_short Danish general practitioners as gatekeepers for gynaecological patients in regions with different density of resident specialists in gynaecology: in which situations and to whom do they refer? A cross-sectional study
title_sort danish general practitioners as gatekeepers for gynaecological patients in regions with different density of resident specialists in gynaecology: in which situations and to whom do they refer? a cross-sectional study
topic Research Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10088933/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36633427
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2023.2165085
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