Patterns of Interaction Between General Practitioners and Their Patients by Means of a Messaging System Within the Electronic Health Record Regarding Messages Asking for a Referral to a Specialist: A Descriptive Study.

The continuity of care is the relationship between a physician and a patient that extends throughout different episodes of illness. This care includes that in some opportunities the patient must consult a medical specialist. In this qualitative study, we set out to explore and describe the different requests for referral authorization to a specialist by patients affiliated with private health insurance, in order to understand the different patterns of interaction between general practitioners (GP) and their patients. The conversation analysis l et us identify categories (structural and functional) after a critical reading of messages between GPs and their patients through an Electronic Health Records (EHR) messaging system. This work allowed u s t o know more in depth the process of continuity of care. In most cases, the doctor answered affirmatively to the request for a new referral to a specialist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]