Table 1

General practitioner referral patterns for standardised patient cases indicating development of end-stage renal failure

Patient characteristic

Specialist Referral by GP

Nephrologist %

General Physician %

Urologist %

Other %

All cases

44

37

7

11*

Younger patient (age 40)

47

36

7

10

Older patient(age 70)

41

39

7

13

Moderate symptoms

40

42

6

12

Severe symptoms

48

32

8

12

*1% of patients not referred to specialists; Moderate symptoms = 129 to 350 μmol/l creatinine, Severe symptoms = 250 to 480 μmol/l creatinine

Montgomery et al. BMC Health Services Research 2006 6:114   doi:10.1186/1472-6963-6-114