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INTERPRACTITIONER COMMUNICATION: TELEPHONE CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN RURAL GENERAL PRACTITIONERS AND SPECIALISTS
Author(s) -
Hollins Jane,
Veitch Craig,
Hays Richard
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1584.2000.tb00361.x
Subject(s) - perspective (graphical) , medicine , general practice , nursing , rural health , family medicine , telephone survey , reliability (semiconductor) , telephone interview , rural area , medical education , psychology , business , sociology , advertising , computer science , social science , power (physics) , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence
The results of a study that sought to investigate the utility of and satisfaction with telephone consultations from the perspective of general practitioners and specialists are reported. Semi‐structured interviews with rural general practitioners and specialists were used to elicit information about their most recent telephone consultations. The telephone was found to be an important means of communication for rural practitioners, primarily in terms of organising referrals. General practitioners tended to called specialists who they knew and appeared to have fairly well‐formed networks of specialists who they called for most of their concerns. Trust is an important element of interpractitioner communication as it increases understanding and confidence in the reliability of the information exchanged. Good working relationships ensure that rural general practitioners have an accessible source of acceptable specialist support.