Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The Fading Concept of the Unnecessary Referral

The Fading Concept of the Unnecessary Referral Abstract It is perhaps high time that physicians gave some thought to the elimination of the term "unnecessary referral" from the medical lexicon. As ordinarily used, these words are synonymous with "overreferral," but they carry with them some undesirable implications; namely, that (1) there is no value to a physical (or eye) examination in which no pathology is uncovered and that (2) somebody in the front-line screening program quite obviously goofed. The increased popular awareness in the areas of "public health" has spawned, and will continue to spawn, an ever increasing number of screening programs for an ever increasing number of diseases. A few of these are, and will continue to be, ill conceived, but all will involve the physician sooner or later and this regardless of his sentiments in the matter. It is important that the physician's attitude toward the "overreferral" is not one which will encourage the expansion of References 1. Blum, H. L., et al: Orinda Study : Vision Screening in Elementary Schools , Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 1959. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archives of Ophthalmology American Medical Association

The Fading Concept of the Unnecessary Referral

Tour, Robert L.
Archives of Ophthalmology , Volume 72 (4) – Oct 1, 1964
Download PDF
2 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/american-medical-association/the-fading-concept-of-the-unnecessary-referral-dIge5j5DrM

References (1)

Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1964 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0003-9950
eISSN
1538-3687
DOI
10.1001/archopht.1964.00970020452002
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract It is perhaps high time that physicians gave some thought to the elimination of the term "unnecessary referral" from the medical lexicon. As ordinarily used, these words are synonymous with "overreferral," but they carry with them some undesirable implications; namely, that (1) there is no value to a physical (or eye) examination in which no pathology is uncovered and that (2) somebody in the front-line screening program quite obviously goofed. The increased popular awareness in the areas of "public health" has spawned, and will continue to spawn, an ever increasing number of screening programs for an ever increasing number of diseases. A few of these are, and will continue to be, ill conceived, but all will involve the physician sooner or later and this regardless of his sentiments in the matter. It is important that the physician's attitude toward the "overreferral" is not one which will encourage the expansion of References 1. Blum, H. L., et al: Orinda Study : Vision Screening in Elementary Schools , Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 1959.

Journal

Archives of Ophthalmology – American Medical Association

Published: Oct 1, 1964

There are no references for this article.