Table 4.
Characteristics of the content of referral and reply letters and difficulties in their use
| Argentina | Brazil | Chile | Colombia | Mexico | Uruguay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Referral letter | (n = 160) | (n = 125) | (n = 204) | (n = 222) | (n = 201) | (n = 96) |
| Information usually received | ||||||
| Clinical history | 97 (60.6) | 62 (49.6) | 75 (36.8) | 95 (42.8) | 108 (53.7) | 47 (49.0) |
| Referral reason | 126 (78.8) | 61 (48.8) | 68 (33.3) | 160 (72.1) | 110 (54.7) | 64 (66.7) |
| Suspected diagnosis | 95 (59.4) | 57 (45.6) | 163 (79.9) | 192 (86.5) | 138 (68.7) | 43 (44.8) |
| Treatment | 89 (55.6) | 32 (25.6) | 33 (16.2) | 109 (49.1) | 70 (34.8) | 45 (46.9) |
| Medical tests | 80 (50.0) | 24 (19.2) | 52 (25.5) | 103 (46.4) | 74 (36.8) | 30 (31.3) |
| Reply letter | (n = 148) | (n = 52) | (n = 121) | (n = 35) | (n = 126) | (n = 47) |
| Information usually received | ||||||
| Clinical history | 42 (28.4) | 15 (28.9) | 15 (12.4) | 17 (48.6) | 31 (24.6) | 18 (38.3) |
| Diagnosis | 115 (77.7) | 38 (73.1) | 97 (80.2) | 27 (77.1) | 97 (77.0) | 37 (78.7) |
| Treatment | 127 (85.8) | 42 (80.8) | 113 (93.4) | 31 (88.6) | 114 (90.5) | 40 (85.1) |
| Medical tests | 84 (56.8) | 14 (26.9) | 20 (16.5) | 14 (40.0) | 34 (27.0) | 15 (31.9) |
| The reply letter addresses the reason for referral | ||||||
| Yes | 116 (78.4) | 35 (67.3) | 87 (71.9) | 19 (54.3) | 111 (88.1) | 37 (78.7) |
| Reply letter is received in good time to make decisions | ||||||
| Yes | 74 (50.0) | 16 (30.8) | 35 (28.9) | 7 (20.0) | 40 (31.8) | 25 (53.2) |
| Difficulties detected in use of referral and reply lettersa | 171 (52.6) | 56 (23.9) | 198 (56.9) | 242 (66.4) | 151 (41.8) | 78 (44.8) |
| Don’t fill them in/send them | 94 (55.0) | 10 (17.9) | 30 (15.2) | 46 (19.1) | 22 (14.6) | 44 (56.4) |
| Incomplete/erroneous data | 49 (28.7) | 22 (39.3) | 97 (49.0) | 111 (46.1) | 67 (44.4) | 12 (15.4) |
| Illegible handwriting | 22 (12.9) | 3 (5.4) | 50 (25.3) | 61 (25.3) | 20 (13.3) | – |
| No forms available | 14 (8.2) | 4 (7.1) | – | – | 13 (8.6) | 9 (11.5) |
| Lack of time to fill them in | 13 (7.6) | 5 (8.9) | 11 (5.6) | 13 (5.4) | – | – |
| Inadequate layout of forms | – | 6 (10.7) | 21 (10.6) | 48 (19.8) | 21 (13.9) | 6 (7.7) |
| Bureaucratic problems | – | 6 (10.7) | – | – | – | – |
| Arrive too late | – | 3 (5.4) | 21 (10.6) | – | 11 (7.3) | – |
| Administrative/bureaucratic use | – | – | – | 14 (5.8) | – | – |
| Othersb | 26 (15.2) | 7 (12.5) | 50 (25.3) | 29 (12.0) | 19 (12.6) | 18 (23.1) |
a
Countries listed in alphabetical order. Answer categories listed in descending order of frequency for Argentina. Various answers possible.
b
The category ‘others’ groups together all categories with percentages of <5%.
The empty cells mean that doctors in this country did not report this category or it is included in ‘others’ because its percentage is <5%.