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General Medical Practitioners' Preferences in Referring Patients with Head and Neck Disorders; A Cross-Sectional Evaluative Study in Greece.

Dimitrios TatsisTheodoros GrivasAsterios AntoniouStella ArgyriadouAthanassios Kyrgidis
Published in: Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India (2021)
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) is among the newest established medical specialties and its full scope is not fully known by other specialties. The aim of the present study is to record the perception of OMFS scope by general medical practitioners (GMPs) of the National Health Service in Greece. A cross-sectional study was conducted in GMPs via a structured questionnaire. Questions involved various head and neck disorders and possible referring medical specialties. 66 answered questionnaires were included in this study. Participants were established to regional health practices, health centres or hospitals. 77.2% of the participants would refer a facial laceration to a plastic surgeon and only 7.2% to an OMFS. 89.3% would refer a zygoma fracture to an OMFS and 10.6% to an ENT. The vast majority would refer a tongue cancer, a neck mass and a mouth lesion to an ENT (74.8%, 81.8%, and 48% respectively). OMFS scope awareness of GMPs can be considered low. Thus, widening the knowledge of OMFS practice in primary grade medical practitioners is of high importance. Early exposure of medical students to the specialty could be a valid option to achieve this target.
Keyphrases
  • healthcare
  • primary care
  • public health
  • minimally invasive
  • medical students
  • squamous cell carcinoma
  • risk factors
  • coronary artery disease
  • young adults
  • atrial fibrillation
  • social media
  • patient reported