Coordination between primary and cardiological care: The opinion of the family doctor

Objective. To analyse the relationship between Primary and Cardiological Ca re from the perspective of family physicians. Methods. A descriptive-crossover study was carried out by a questionnaire s ent by mail to a sample of 384 doctors systematically selected from the dat abase of the College of Physicians of Madrid. Results. One hundred forty-eight physicians (38.5%) answered the questionna ire, 75% of whom saw more than 30 patients/week with cardiovascular risk fa ctors and more than 10 patients/week with cardiac syndromes, in the followi ng order: ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, valvular dis ease, cor pulmonale and others. Ninety percent of the physicians refer less than 10 patients/month to cardiologists, with a time delay of greater than a month in 50% of the cases. The document used for referral is the consult ation form (98%) that is always or frequently answered. The quality of the cardiologist's report is either good or excellent in 50% of the cases. Acce ssibility to electrocardiograms and thorax x-rays by family doctors is of 9 9.3%. Family physicians have a very positive opinion regarding the need for hospital collaboration in their continuous training and coordination with cardiologists.