✁ ✂
✄ ☎
✁ ✆
✝ ✞
✟ ✄
✠ ✁
✆ ✠
✁ ✡
✞ ☛
✂ ✁
✂ ✄
☛ ✂
✄ ✠
☛ ☞
✌ ✍
☞
✦ ★
Table 11.5: Ten diagnoses most frequently referred to specialist in 2012
Diagnosis Number
Percentage
a
Rate per 100 encounters
n = 141,593 95 CI
Rate per 100 contacts
b
LCL UCL
Diabetes - all 391
12.94 0.28
0.25 0.30
3.02 Diabetes, non-insulin
dependent 277
9.17 0.20
0.17 0.22
2.42 Diabetes, gestational
108 3.58
0.08 0.06
0.09 7.46
Diabetes, insulin dependent
6 0.19
0.01 0.00
0.01 10.83
Hypertension 302
10.01 0.22
0.19 0.24
1.60 Pregnancy high risk
204 6.74
0.15 0.13
0.16 10.32
Arthritis - all 181
5.99 0.13
0.11 0.15
11.11 Back problems
129 4.27
0.09 0.08
0.11 5.39
Lipid disorder 121
3.99 0.09
0.07 0.10
1.03 Upper respiratory infection,
acute 75
2.48 0.05
0.04 0.07
0.23 Diseasecondition of
XQVSHFLÀHGQDWXUHVLWH 73
2.43 0.05
0.04 0.07
5.32 Kidney disease
70 2.32
0.05 0.04
0.06 28.26
Fear of heart disease 66
2.19 0.05
0.04 0.06
73.97
Subtotal 1,612
53.37 1.14
1.08 1.20
- Total diagnoses referred
to specialist 3,020
100.00 2.13
2.06 2.21
-
a Percentage of all diagnoses referred to specialist b Proportion of contacts with this diagnosis that was referred to specialist
Multiple ICPC-2 codes see Appendix 2
Decision for referrals are dependent on patient’s factors which includes age, patient’s health status, previous experiences as well as the doctor’s such as doctors’ practice styles.
1,2
HLQJWKHÀUVWSRLQWRI contact of care, judicious referrals to the appropriate point of care by the primary care providers are
important.
3
This is because referrals ultimately will have a huge impact on the healthcare resources, quality of care as well as the access to health system.
1
REFERENCES:
1. Bertakis KD, Callahan EJ, Azari R, Robbins JA. Predictors of patient referrals by primary care
residents to specialty care clinics. Fam Med. 2001; 333: 203-9 2.
Kinchen KS, Cooper LA, Levine D, Wang NY, Powe NR. Referral of patients to specialists: factors affecting choice of specialist by primary care physicians. Ann Fam Med. 2004; 23:245-252.
3. Rushton J, Bruckman D, Kelleher K. Primary care referral of children with psychosocial problems.
Arch Paediatr Adolesc Med. 2002; 1566:592-8.
