Hospitals reject one in seven referred patients

Hospitals rejected 200,000 patients last year after their general practitioners referred them for specialist examinations, DR reports. That means one in seven referred patients was turned away.

Before 2018, general practitioners’ referrals were almost never rejected, according to Jyllands-Posten. Since then, the number of rejected referrals has risen sharply.

Jørgen Skadborg, chair of the Organisation of General Practitioners, warned that the rejections could delay patients’ diagnoses and treatment.

“Legislation is needed to put an end to the hospitals’ massive rejection of referrals. They affect patients and delay their diagnosis and treatment,” he told Jyllands-Posten.

Hospitals most often reject referrals to psychiatric, neurological or medical departments. Rejections also affect patients whom general practitioners want examined or treated for conditions such as rheumatism or gastrointestinal disorders.

General practitioners say hospitals also reject referrals when they suspect serious illnesses such as cancer or heart disease. This can happen when a doctor cannot precisely identify where in the body a patient’s symptoms originate.

A referral may be rejected for several reasons, including because it is not specific enough or does not meet certain criteria.

Health Minister Ida Auken said the high number of rejected referrals was a problem that unfortunately left some patients “bouncing around in the system”. She called for better cooperation between general practitioners and hospitals over referrals.