Evaluating the referral preferences and consultation requests of primary care physicians with otolaryngology – head and neck surgery

BACKGROUND: No literature exists which examines referral preferences to, or the consultation process with, Otolaryngology. In a recent Canadian Medical Association nation-wide survey of General Practitioners and Family Physicians, Otolaryngology was listed as the second-most problematic specialty for referrals. The purpose of this study was to learn about and improve upon the referral process between primary care physicians (PCPs) and Otolaryngology at an academic centre in Southwestern Ontario. METHODS: PCPs who actively refer patients to Otolaryngology within the catchment area of Western University were asked to complete a short paper-based questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of 50 PCPs were surveyed. Subspecialty influenced 90.0 % of the referrals made. Specialist wait times altered 58.0 % of referrals. All PCPs preferred to communicate via fax. Half of those surveyed wanted clinical notes from every encounter. Seventy-four percent of respondents wanted inappropriate referrals forwarded to the proper specialist automatically. Twenty-two percent of those surveyed were satisfied with current wait times. A central referral system was favored by 74 % of PCPs. CONCLUSION: Improvements could help streamline the referral and consultation practices with Otolaryngology in Southwestern Ontario. A central referral system and reduction in the frequency of consultative reports can be considered. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40463-015-0114-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.