All those time consuming administrative functions for a practice and better health care...the long term relationship with the patient from the primary care MD made the difference in the study...a level of trust and something you may not have with seeing different doctors at different locations when having to change physicians due to contract coverage. BD
FRIDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- About 20 percent of patients don't follow up on their doctor's referrals to specialists, new research shows.
According to Forrest, patients are more likely to go to a specialist if their primary care doctor makes the appointment. "Patients who left the office with an appointment were more likely to attend," he said.
In addition, insurance coverage was also a factor in whether or not patients saw a specialist. Patients on Medicaid were less likely to follow through on the referral and more likely to be denied coverage by their health plan, the study found.
"And patients who did not have health insurance were less likely to be referred at all," Forrest said. "If they were referred, they had more difficulty finding a specialist who would give them an appointment," he said.
"Having a long-term relationship seemed to make a difference," Forrest said. "It makes a difference whether you have a strong relationship with your primary care doctor or a weaker relationship," he said. "That is an important factor in trusting the recommendation of the doctor."
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