Management of Gastrointestinal Disorders in General Practice from the Perspective of Specialists – Contribution to Interdisciplinary Cooperation

Overview

Background.
The understanding of different management strategies in primary and secondary care is important for cooperation between specialists and general practitioners in clinical practice. The Institut of General Practice at First Faculty of Medicine carried out a survey for gastroenterologists concerning their opinions on general practitioners and their current knowledge, competence and management of GI disorders as a contribution to interdisciplinary communication. 

Methods and Results.
Questionnaires were sent to 552 gastroenterologists in the country. There was a response rate of 31% without any reminder. 170 questionnaires were included in a study. The most of gastroenterologists (92 %) support practical guidelines development. There is an insufficient confidence that these guidelines are implemented in practice. Four from five gastroenterologists consider knowledge of their colleagues GPs in gastroenterology as average. In particular cases (irritable bowel syndrome, step up and step down approach) are specialists rather sceptic. There is a low support for the increase of GP competence in gastroenterology, as for urea breath test availibility, particularly in private gastroenterologists (p=0,04). 

Conclusions.
Results of the survey could facilitate the interdisciplinary communication in gastroenterology, contribute to CME programs development and may serve as an example for other specialities. 

Key words:
general practitioner, primary care, secondary care, gastroenterology, interdiciplinary cooperation, communication.