Do locally agreed guidelines for optometrists concerning the referral of glaucoma suspects influence referral practice?

Imaging referral guidelines in Europe: now and in the future—EC Referral Guidelines Workshop Proceedings

UNLABELLED As an integral part of the European Commission (EC) Imaging Referral Guidelines Project a 1.5-day workshop was held in Vienna on 20-21 September, 2012. At this workshop, models and good practices regarding the appropriateness and use of imaging referral guidelines (Guidelines) in Europe and worldwide were presented, together with the results of a survey of Guidelines in Europe. The l...

Factors influencing accuracy of referral and the likelihood of false positive referral by optometrists in Bradford, United Kingdom

AIMS Levels of false positive referral to ophthalmology departments can be high. This study aimed to evaluate commonality between false positive referrals in order to find the factors which may influence referral accuracy. METHODS In 2007/08, a sample of 431 new Ophthalmology referrals from the catchment area of Bradford Royal Infirmary were retrospectively analysed. RESULTS The proportion ...

Guidelines for referral to pediatric surgical specialists.

Examining the variation in GPs’ referral practice: a cross-sectional study of GPs’ reasons for referral

BACKGROUND There is a large variation in referral rates to secondary care among GPs, which is partly unexplained. AIM To explore associations between reasons for referral to secondary care and patient, GP, and healthcare characteristics. DESIGN AND SETTING A cross-sectional study in Northern Norway. METHOD Data were derived from 44 (42%) of 104 randomly selected GPs between 2008 and 2010....

Typologies in GPs’ referral practice

BACKGROUND GPs' individual decisions to refer and the various ways of working when they refer are important determinants of secondary care use. The objective of this study was to explore and describe potential characteristics of GPs' referral practice by investigating their opinions about referring and their self-reported experiences of what they do when they refer. METHODS Observational cros...