Self‐referral to specialists – a dodgy proposition

Abstract

Patients are often ill‐equipped to know which speciality to choose for their health problem. Especially in the presence of non‐specific symptoms, choosing the right specialist might not be so obvious. In such cases, misdirected self‐referrals by patients to self‐chosen specialists can sometimes lead to misdiagnosis resulting in unwarranted delays in getting the right treatment. The general physicians, on the other hand, are in a unique position to oversee the big picture of patients’ health, and are therefore better equipped to identify and sort out their individual health problems. Hence instead of a specialist if the first place of contact for patients is a general physician, they are likely to be guided along the right path of treatment for their various health problems. Such a system will minimize errors on the part of the patients by making certain that they are referred to the appropriate specialists.

Citation

Makkar, R.P.S., Monga, A., Arora, A., Mukhopadhyay, S. and Gupta, A.K. (2003), "Self‐referral to specialists – a dodgy proposition", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 87-89. https://doi.org/10.1108/09526860310465591