Specialist involvement and referral patterns in ambulatory medical care for patients with dementia in Germany: results of a claims data based case-control study

Table 3 Quarter of first contact and course patterns of incident patients visiting an NP (n = 831) and/or a radiologist (n = 538) during the incidence year

	Row nr.	Quarter 5	Quarter 6	Quarter 7	Quarter 8
Course patterns for neuropsychiatry	1	612 (100%)	486 (79%)	405 (66%)	352 (58%)
	2		100 (100%)	61 (61%)	51 (51%)
	3			72 (100%)	37 (51%)
	4				47 (100%)
Course patterns forradiology	5	275 (100%)	39 (14%)	6 (2%)	3 (1%)
	6		126 (100%)	10 (8%)	3 (2%)
	7			71 (100%)	9 (13%)
	8				66 (100%)

Quarters 1 - 4 = quarters before incidence/diagnosis quarter; quarter 5 = incidence/diagnosis quarter, quarters 6 - 8 = quarters after incidence/diagnosis quarter
Reading example for NP: 831 incident patients visited an NP for the first time in single quarters of the incidence year [612 in IQ 5 (incidence quarter), 100 in IQ 6, 72 in IQ 7 and 47 in IQ 8]. These first-time-visit groups (all set at 100%) are followed during the next quarters: among the 612 patients of Q 5, 79% see an NP again during Q 6 (and 21% drop out), 66% also in Q 7, and 58% also in Q 8. Of the 100 first-time visitors in Q 6, 61% see an NP again during the next quarter (IQ 7) etc.

ISSN: 1472-6963