Preparedness to Accept Psychiatric Referral

Abstract

A survey of 312 patients attending 13 Sydney general practices suggested that preparedness to accept psychiatric referral by a general practitioner related most clearly to preparedness to consult the general practitioner in the first instance and the perceived likelihood of the general practitioner suggesting a psychological problem, while the sociodemographic characteristics of the patient did not appear of relevance. Data on actual psychiatric referrals by the contributing general practitioners suggested a higher psychiatric referral by practices in lower social class regions of Sydney and a differential referral pattern, with referral to a community psychiatric facility being rare in other than low social class general practices.