PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gillam, David M.
TI  - Referral to consultants — the National Health Service versus private practice
DP  - 1985 Jan 01
TA  - The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
PG  - 15--18
VI  - 35
IP  - 270
4099  - http://bjgp.org/content/35/270/15.short
4100  - http://bjgp.org/content/35/270/15.full
SO  - J R Coll Gen Pract1985 Jan 01; 35
AB  - In a three-month audit of referrals to consultants by 18 general practitioners, a wide variation in individual doctor's referral rates was observed. The rate for private referral varied between doctors to a remarkable degree. Referrals made privately were twice as likely as NHS referrals to have been initiated by the patient. Private referrals were perceived by the doctors to have been no less worth-while than NHS referrals. The holding of private health insurance by patients was a factor in a third of private referrals.