Referral rates of general practice registrars for behavioural or mental health conditions in children
Freed, G.L.; Morgan, S.; Tapley, A.; Spike, N.; Magin, P.J.
Australian Family Physician 45(3): 139-142
2016
ISSN/ISBN: 0300-8495 PMID: 27052052 Document Number: 689739
There is concern about whether general practice registrars gain sufficient exposure to, and confidence in caring for, many pae-diatric conditions during their apprenticeship training. General practice registrars' referral patterns for paediatric conditions over-all or for specific conditions, including behavioural or mental health diagnoses, are unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the relative rates of referral by general practice registrars for children, compared with adults, specifically for those with behavioural or mental health diagnoses. A secondary analysis of 83,445 encounters from the Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training (ReCEnT) dataset was undertaken. More than half of children (52%) with a behavioural or mental health problem were referred to specialty care, compared with only 23% of adults. For all other conditions, only 9% of children received specialty referral, compared with 12% of adults. Although a certain proportion of behavioural or mental health issues in children may require either diagnostic assistance or aid in management, it is unclear whether more than half are unable to be cared for by a general practice registrar without referral.