Table 2.

Range of Factors Considered by Participants of Each Study When Making Referrals by Relational Domain

	Factor considered when making referral decision
	Specialist’s clinical expertise	Interactions between patient and specialist	Interactions between referring physician and specialist
Forrest et al. 2002	Technical capacity	Quality of prior feedback Appointment availability Patient request Requirement of patient’s health plan Proximity of specialist to patient’s home	Personal knowledge of the specialist
Kinchen et al. 2004	Medical skill Board certification Quality of communication Medical school Fellowship training institution	Previous experience with specialist Patient convenience Office location Appointment timeliness Likelihood of good patient-physician rapport Insurance coverage Patient preference for particular specialist	Specialist returns to primary physician PCP relationship with specialist Hospital affiliation Attitudes of colleagues towards specialist Specialist refers patients to primary physician
Abel et al. 2012	Reputation of specialist/facility Specialist’s affiliation with cancer center Availability of clinical trials at referral site	Patient’s preference for site of care Distance of site from patient’s home Patient’s ability to pay	Practice’s affiliation with specialist Personal relationship with specialist Possibility of losing patient to specialist
Barnett et al. 2012		My patients have good experiences with this physician Physician has good patient rapport Timely availability of appointments Location convenient for patient Patient request Speaks patient’s language	Quality of communication with me Shares my medical record system Physician refers to me Works in my hospital or practice
Brown et al. 2013	Report cards Technical skill Clinical judgement Post-operative care Risk-adjusted mortality Outcomes other than mortality Effective communication	Patient satisfaction	Hospital affiliation
Gao et al. 2021	Patient complexity Surgeon experience and volume GIs would refer a family member to a trusted colorectal surgeon. Surgeons would refer a family member to a large or academic center.	Preference for care to be received locally Specialist availability Patient preference	GIs preferred to refer to colorectal surgeons while most general surgeons perform surgery on patients they diagnose Preference to remain in health system
Makovkina and Kern 2021	Clinical judgement Clinical reputation of physician’s organization	Geographic preference Ease of scheduling Patient feedback Insurance coverage Patient preference Flexibility in accommodating urgent referrals	Preference or institutional pressure to refer within organization Cost containment Personal knowledge and trust of specialist Ease of communication and coordination of care Shared EMR