BMJ 1994;308:1714-1715 (25 June)

Letters

Outreach clinics in general practice

EDITOR, - The medical press has widely reported that outreach clinics do not seem to have improved communication between general practitioners and specialists. In the case of fundholding practices this conclusion cannot be drawn from the paper by Jacqueline Bailey and colleagues, who measured only how often general practitioners attended outreach clinics.1 There are many more efficient ways of communicating and learning than attending clinics. In my practice, which has five in house clinics, specialists discuss their cases over a working lunch attended by all partners and the practice's clinic nurse. We think that communications have improved greatly.

Bailey and colleagues state that fundholders had initiated their clinics. Presumably they arranged to communicate with specialists at other times. In the table showing the advantages to fundholders of outreach clinics, communication with specialists was mentioned most commonly and educational value was second. The outreach clinics have probably led to improved communications, . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Specialist outreach clinics in general practice
J J Bailey, M E Black, and D Wilkin
BMJ 1994 308: 1083-1086. [Abstract] [Full Text]

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