Biomaterial Database

Referral patterns of family physicians in an underserved rural area. 1979

I Moscovice, and C W Schwartz, and S M Shortell

This paper examines the rates and patterns of referral of four family physicians in an underserved rural area of Washington State. The majority of referrals made by the family physicians were for management of a particular problem outside the scope of practice of the physician. The referral rates ranged from 1.8 to 3.2 percent of all patient visits and were comparable with those previously reported. A National Health Service Corps physician had the highest rate of referral and a foreign medical graduate had the lowest rate of referral. These results may be explained by practice building incentives as well as the ability to establish ties with the referral network.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008507	Medically Underserved Area	A geographic location which has insufficient health resources (manpower and/or facilities) to meet the medical needs of the resident population.	National Health Service Corps,Physician Shortage Area,Area, Medically Underserved,Health Service Corps, National,Medically Underserved Population,Area, Physician Shortage,Areas, Medically Underserved,Areas, Physician Shortage,Medically Underserved Areas,Medically Underserved Populations,Physician Shortage Areas,Population, Medically Underserved,Populations, Medically Underserved,Shortage Area, Physician,Shortage Areas, Physician,Underserved Area, Medically,Underserved Areas, Medically,Underserved Population, Medically,Underserved Populations, Medically
D010821	Physicians, Family	Those physicians who have completed the education requirements specified by the American Academy of Family Physicians.	Family Physician,Family Physicians,Physician, Family
D012017	Referral and Consultation	The practice of sending a patient to another program or practitioner for services or advice which the referring source is not prepared to provide.	Consultation,Gatekeepers, Health Service,Hospital Referral,Second Opinion,Consultation and Referral,Health Service Gatekeepers,Hospital Referrals,Referral,Referral, Hospital,Referrals, Hospital,Consultations,Gatekeeper, Health Service,Health Service Gatekeeper,Opinion, Second,Opinions, Second,Referrals,Second Opinions
D012424	Rural Population	The inhabitants of rural areas or of small towns classified as rural.	Rural Residence,Rural Communities,Rural Spatial Distribution,Communities, Rural,Community, Rural,Distribution, Rural Spatial,Distributions, Rural Spatial,Population, Rural,Populations, Rural,Residence, Rural,Rural Community,Rural Populations,Rural Residences,Rural Spatial Distributions
D014861	Washington	State bounded by on the north by Canada, on the east by Idaho, on the south by Oregon, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.