Referral to Hospital: Perceptions of Patients, General Practitioners and Consultants About Necessity and Suitability of Referral

A sample of new referrals from general practitioners to hospitalspecialists was examined from the points of view of the patient,general practitioner and consultant concerned with regard tothe adequacy of the general practitioners' performance beforereferral, his ability to have managed without referral and thesuitability of the specialist seen. Little agreement was foundbetween the opinions expressed by the three groups, althoughsome of the opinions expressed within the groups were foundto be associated with characteristics of the groups.