SynthesisThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2002
Does primary medical practitioner involvement with a specialist team improve patient outcomes? A systematic review.
Synthesis in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.
- Consultation liaison in primary care for people with mental disorders.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Integrated care programmes for adults with chronic conditions: a meta-review.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2014Pooled it
- [A systematic review of therapy coordination between primary and specialist care].Atencion primaria · 2007Pooled it
- Article
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- An Overview of Reviews on Interprofessional Collaboration in Primary Care: Effectiveness.International journal of integrated care · 2021Article
- An Overview of Reviews on Interprofessional Collaboration in Primary Care: Barriers and Facilitators.International journal of integrated care · 2021Article
- A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Social Work Learning Outcomes in Interprofessional Training with Medicine and Pharmacy Students.Journal of social work education · 2017Article
- Effect of Tramadol/Acetaminophen on Motivation in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain.Pain research & management · 2016Article
- Assessing clinical support and inter-professional interactions among front-line primary care providers in remote communities in northern Canada: a pilot study.International journal of circumpolar health · 2016Article
- The effect of clinical interventions on hospital readmissions: a meta-review of published meta-analyses.Israel journal of health policy research · 2013Article
- [Interprofessional education in pain management: development strategies for an interprofessional core curriculum for health professionals in German-speaking countries].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2012Review
- Continuing care for mentally stable psychiatric patients in primary care: patients' preferences and views.International journal of family medicine · 2012Article
- Investigating the barriers to teaching family physicians' and specialists' collaboration in the training environment: a qualitative study.BMC medical education · 2009Article
- Transition of care: experiences and preferences of patients across the primary/secondary interface - a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2009Article
- 5-2-1-almost none: parents' perceptions of changing health-related behaviors in their obese child.The Permanente journal · 2009Article
- Judgements about fellow professionals and the management of patients receiving palliative care in primary care: a qualitative study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2008Article
- Validation of an instrument to measure inter-organisational linkages in general practice.International journal of integrated care · 2007Article
- Organizational interventions to implement improvements in patient care: a structured review of reviews.Implementation science : IS · 2006Article
- Comorbidity: implications for the importance of primary care in 'case' management.Annals of family medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Patients with chronic or complex medical or psychiatric conditions are treated by many practioners, including general practitioners (GPs). Formal liaison between primary and specialist is often assumed to offer benefits to patients. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of formal liaison of GPs with specialist service providers on patient health outcomes, by conducting a systematic review of the published literature in MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL and Cochrane Library databases using the following search terms: 'family physician': synonyms of 'patient care planning', 'patient discharge' and 'patient care team'; and synonyms of 'randomised controlled trials'. Seven studies were identified, involving 963 subjects and 899 controls. Most health outcomes were unchanged, although some physical and functional health outcomes were improved by formal liaison between GPs and specialist services, particularly among chronic mental illness patients. Some health outcomes worsened during the intervention. Patient retention rates within treatment programmes improved with GP involvement, as did patient satisfaction. Doctor (GP and specialist) behaviour changed with reports of more rational use of resources and diagnostic tests, improved clinical skills, more frequent use of appropriate treatment strategies, and more frequent clinical behaviours designed to detect disease complications. Cost effectiveness could not be determined. In conclusion, formal liaison between GPs and specialist services leaves most physical health outcomes unchanged, but improves functional outcomes in chronically mentally ill patients. It may confer modest long-term health benefits through improvements in patient concordance with treatment programmes and more effective clinical practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
12434964PMC1314447W1946731921What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.