General practitioners' perceptions regarding coordinated care.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the attitudes of general practitioners to the changing roles in the coordination of complex patient care.

METHOD

A questionnaire survey was distributed with Australian Doctor.

RESULTS

GPs were found to fall into four broad groups in relation to care coordination: those who do not want to expand their role in coordination of care (30%); those who would like to expand their role in coordination of care, but do not want to take costs into account when making decisions about patient care (34%); those who would like to expand their role in coordination of care, do think costs should be taken into account, but do not wish to be involved in budget management (21%); and those who would like to expand their role in coordination of care and be involved in budget management (22%).

CONCLUSION

In the context of the introduction of managed care in Australia, this survey highlights the potential for GPs to take on a range of roles and responsibilities under these arrangements.