IMPROVING GENERAL-PRACTITIONER INVOLVEMENT IN URBAN HOSPITALS - DEPARTMENTS OR DIVISIONS OF GENERAL-PRACTICE

Objective: To discover what measures have been taken in urban Australian hospitals to involve general practitioners (GPs) in public hospital services. Design: A descriptive study. Data were collected by postal survey. Setting: Hospitals in urban areas. Main outcome measures: Appointment of GP affiliates or associates, existence of departments or divisions of general practice, appointed GP liaison positions and formal arrangements for GP shared care and discharge planning. Results: Ninety-five of 102 hospitals (93%) responded to a postal survey. Sixty-five per cent of respondent hospitals had appointed GP affiliates or associates, 32% had a division or department of general practice and 41% had a designated GP liaison position. Forty per cent had formal GP shared care programs and 14% had formal GP involvement in discharge planning. Conclusion: There was a high level of adoption of measures to involve GPs in urban hospitals. However, only a minority of hospitals had comprehensive measures in place and sufficient support for this to occur.