Oral surgery:the referral system and telemedicine

Key Points

• Nearly half of the general dental practitioners questioned in this study were not satisfied with the service offered by their specialist oral surgery provider.

• The principal reasons for this dissatisfaction were the length of the waiting lists for consultation and treatment.

• Telemedicine is discussed as one potential way to improve access for patients and also to improve communication for the referring general dental practitioner.

Abstract

Objective To investigate GDP opinions of the current referral system and to investigate the need and demand for telemedicine in oral surgery referrals.

Design Postal questionnaire.

Setting 400 GDPs in Greater Manchester.

Results 84% participation rate. 48% were not satisfied overall with the service of their current specialist oral surgery referral site. The principal reason was the length of the waiting time for consultation and treatment. Distance for patients to travel to the specialist unit was also of concern, even though most patients (89%) travelled short distances (return journey of twelve miles or less). 23% of respondents wished to improve their ability to communicate with the oral surgeon and 70% wanted involvement in the patient consultation. Both of these requirements were more likely in younger practitioners.

Conclusion There is a need and demand for change in the referral system for oral surgery specialist care. Telemedicine could conceivably be one way to improve access to specialist oral surgery care.

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