Referral patterns of special needs patients at the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Mohamed Rohani, M. and Calache, H. and Borromeo, G.L. (2017) Referral patterns of special needs patients at the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Australian Dental Journal, 62 (2). pp. 173-179. ISSN 0045-0421, DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/adj.12465.

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Abstract

Background: Special Needs Dentistry (SND) has been recognized as a dental specialty in Australia since 2003 but there have been no studies addressing the profile of patients for specialist care. The purpose of this study is to identify, via referrals received, the profile of patients and quality of referrals at the largest public SND unit in Victoria, Australia. Methods: All referrals received over a 6-month period (1 January-30 June 2013) by the integrated SND unit (ISNU) were reviewed prior to allocation to the outpatient clinic (OP), domiciliary (DOM) or general anaesthetic (GA) services. Results: Six-hundred and eighty-eight referrals were received with the majority for the OP clinic (68.3%), followed by DOM (22.4%) and GA services (9.3%) (x(2) = 360.2, P < 0.001). A referral may have specified more than one special needs condition with the most common category being those who were medically compromised (81.7%). The reasons for referral included lack of compliance (27.2%), further management due to multiple medical conditions or GA services required (9.9%), or for multiple other reasons (62.9%). Conclusions: A diverse pattern of SND patients was referred to the ISNU with a majority of referrals having no specific referral reason cited, suggesting poor quality of referrals.

Item Type:	Article
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Consultations; Dentistry; Referral; Special needs; Specialist; Special care dentistry; Access; Practitioners; Disabilities; Adults; Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine
Subjects:	R Medicine > RK Dentistry > Practice of dentistry. Dental economics
Divisions:	Faculty of Dentistry > Dept of Children’s Dentistry And Orthodontics
Depositing User:	Mr Ahmad Azwan Azman
Date Deposited:	13 Sep 2017 03:01
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2017 03:01
URI:	http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/17774

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