Table 4 An illustrative example of how divergent coping strategies, adopted by HCPs and described in the sub-theme “Strategies for coping with the discharge situation”, can cause communication problems. This example highlights when electronic referral with requests for follow-up from hospital physicians to GPs at hospital discharge are used as a one-way communication tool
HCP | Intended way of handling a referral with request for follow-up | Actual way of handling a referral with request for follow-up to cope with the discharge process | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|
Sender (hospital physician) | A referral with precise and specific requests and clearly defined follow-up plans or recommendation of follow-up of specific problems | A referral with broad and somewhat unclear requests, attempting to ask the receiving GP to take responsibility for multiple issues (coping strategy 2), assuming that the receiver also adheres to this strategy | “We can send off a referral with a follow-up request to primary care and say they should follow up on something specific, such as adjusting blood pressure medication or similar. But it feels as if it can have several purposes. You think that there’s someone who is addressing the situation, now and then I say that – this is what we have done and our thoughts about it – and then it becomes like some indirect follow-up of the other problems as well.” (Hospital physician 2, male, focus group 3) |
Receiver (GP) | Accepting the referral and assessing the need for the requested actions | Declining the referral because of lack of clarity (coping strategy 3) | “Quite often we receive purely general follow-up requests. We’re not so keen on that. Because not everyone needs to be followed up. You’d like someone to think – Does that really need to be followed up?” (Primary care physician 1, female, focus group 1) |