Issues involved in Dutch general practitioners' failure to request autopsy: report from three focus groups

OBJECTIVE: To investigate which reservations to autopsy general practitioners (GPs) experience in themselves and in relatives of the deceased. DESIGN: Focus-group discussions. METHOD: Three focus-group discussions were organised (24 GPs in total), comprising the following three types of GP: those involved in the training of new GPs, those who were able to request autopsies without encountering practical obstacles, and those who did have to overcome these obstacles when requesting an autopsy. RESULTS: Neither training nor day-to-day functioning as a GP equips Dutch physicians in regarding autopsy as a research tool. The reservations experienced by the GPs were based on emotional issues, organisational obstacles, and financial considerations.