Further Study of “Care Partnerships”: The Rheumatology Perspective

Abstract

Objective : We have previously described rheumatology ‘care partnerships’ from the perspective of Quebec family doctors. Our current objective was to describe the perceptions of rheumatologists regarding rheumatology ‘care partnerships’. Methods : Practicing Quebec adult rheumatologists (N=100) were mailed a questionnaire, asking them to rate, on a 5-point scale, factors of importance regarding their relationship with family physicians. A factor was considered to be ranked as high importance to the rheumatologist, if the factor was scored as > 4. Results : Of the 100 rheumatologists contacted, 56 completed the survey. All but one of the respondents (n=55) ranked communication and information exchange, as being of high importance. Clear and appropriate balance of responsibilities was also considered very important by most respondents (n=47, 84%) as was appropriateness of referrals from the family physicians (n=42, 75%). Personal knowledge of the family physician (n=19, 34%) and physical proximity to the family physician (n=7, 13%) were less frequently ranked as important to rheumatologists. Conclusion : Along with our previous work, these results confirm that rheumatologists and family doctors share similar values when it comes to rheumatology “care partnerships”. Further study of how to optimize relationships between family physicians and specialists would be of interest.