Physician Outreach: Overview

Abstract

Physicians are vital members of many research and clinical teams on which audiologists often play leadership roles. As primary care providers and gatekeepers to both medical and audiological services, physicians possess the influence and opportunity to encourage patients of all ages and their families to recognize, accept, and seek further testing and treatment for hearing and balance problems when they exist. It is critical that physicians who work with patients of all ages having audiological-related issues possess current knowledge of these topics so that they can make appropriate referrals to audiologists for further diagnosis and intervention. Unfortunately, many physicians' busy schedules and attention to patients' more pressing medical issues often prevent them from staying current with information and making referrals relating to audiology services. Audiologists and their professional organizations can assist their medical colleagues by providing them with physician informational outreach on these topics. However, before initiating outreach efforts, audiologists should be aware of factors that might hinder physicians from delivering these services as well as those that may impede audiologists from being able to provide them with information. It is important that any information supplied be evidence based and presented to physicians in ways that are respectful of their time limitations and in formats that they desire. Although audiologists provide services to patients in many hearing- and balance-related areas, the problems encountered and methods of delivering physician outreach should be similar. This special issue of Seminars in Hearing focuses on physician outreach provided by audiologists and uses examples from two main areas (i.e., infants with hearing loss identified by early hearing detection and intervention programs and elderly patients with hearing or balance problems). Early identification of and intervention for these health-care conditions should improve the health-related quality of life for patients and their families. The results of many of the studies provided in the articles of this special issue have revealed that physicians could benefit from having additional information about audiological-related issues. Time and resources are limited for audiologists as well as for physicians, and this article provides an overview of factors that audiologists should be aware of and consider before conducting physician outreach efforts.