ArticleBMC health services research2013
Recommended content of referral letters from general practitioners to specialised mental health care: a qualitative multi-perspective study.
Article in BMC health services research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01374035 (Interface Between Primary Care and Specialist Mental Health Care - the Referral Letters), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
Interface Between Primary Care and Specialist Mental Health Care - the Referral Letters
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Quality indicators for the referral process from primary to specialised mental health care: an explorative study in accordance with the RAND appropriateness method.BMC health services research · 2017Pooled it
- Defining a theoretical framework for a quality referral at the primary-secondary care interface: a systematic scoping review with qualitative content analysis.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Development and testing of the QDis-MH checklist for discharge letters from specialised mental healthcare: a stakeholder-centred study.BMJ open quality · 2023Article
- Informative value of referral letters from general practice for child and adolescent mental healthcare.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2023Article
- Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations.International journal of clinical practice · 2015Review
- Factors explaining priority setting at community mental health centres: a quantitative analysis of referral assessments.BMC health services research · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn most Western countries, the referral letter forms the basis for establishing the priority of patients for specialised health care and for the coordination of care between the services. To be able to define the quality of referral letters, the potential impact of the quality on the organisation of care, and to improve the quality of the letters, we need a multidimensional definition of the ideal content. The study's aim was to explore what information is seen as most important and should be included in referral letters from primary care to specialised mental health care to facilitate prioritisation and planning of treatment and follow-up of the patients.
methodsBased on purposive sampling, four mixed discussion groups, which included general practitioners, mental health nurses from primary health care, psychiatrists and psychologists from specialised mental health care, managers and patient representatives, were formed; they were asked to identify the information they considered important in a mental health referral letter. In line with the Delphi technique, the importance of the themes was later individually rated by the participants. The study was conducted within The Western Norway Regional Health Authority.
resultsThe four groups identified 174 information themes. After excluding themes that were assessed as duplicates, replaceable or less important, 40 themes were suggested, organised in seven units. A set of check-off points of essential information is recommended as an introduction in the referral letter.
conclusionCompared with general guidelines and guidelines for somatic care, the results of this study suggest that the referral letter to specialised mental health care should have a larger emphasis on the overall treatment plan, on the specific role of specialised health care in the continuum of care, and on patient involvement. Further research should evaluate the validity of these findings for other patient groups in need of integrated care and investigate how the quality of referral letters affects patient-related and organisational outcomes.
trial registrationTRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01374035.
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