General practitioners find the transmission of information rather optimal in its content, but have a big drawback regarding the delays in transmitting information. For the care of a patient, the general practitioner is present at all levels of the patient's treatment.
Generalist and specialist?
The general practitioner, also called general practitioner or family doctor, is therefore often consulted to diagnose symptoms before treating the disease or referring the patient to another specialist. The specialist is one who has expertise in a well-defined field.
Transmission of information
Medical specialists are less optimistic, mostly finding the transmission of information to be fairly correct but perfectible, but they do not highlight the reasons, it is rather a “general feeling”. More than a simple rule of courtesy and good fellowship, information between colleagues contributes to the quality of care of the patient supported jointly. The transmission of information, being one of the central axes of the quality of care, is the business of the entire medical profession. Its optimization will require everyone's awareness of the importance of its quality.
Qualitatively, each of the protagonists seems satisfied. However, some points can still be improved, such as the systematic addition of certain information concerning the “patient's context” (social condition, compliance, etc.), allowing better personalization of care. One could for example imagine mail or report models allowing a systematization of the elements transmitted.
Regarding the modes and times of transmission of information, an effort seems necessary. This will involve, among other things, a modernization and reorganization (among others in the public sector) of the modes of transmission of information and in particular computerization. In many cases, the general practitioner “depends” on the expertise of the specialist practitioner.
It should therefore be remembered that when several doctors collaborate in the examination or treatment of a patient, they must keep each other informed; each practitioner assumes his personal responsibilities and ensures that the patient is get informed. Each of the doctors can freely refuse to lend his assistance, or withdraw it, on condition of not harming the patient and of warning his colleagues.