The influence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) lectures on referrals in the medical profession
Abstract
The purpose of CPD lectures is to provide learning on a continuous basis to keep
medical doctors up to date with the newest scientific developments. The major
responsibility of CPD provision is to address two interrelated tasks, namely to
sustain motivation among established general practitioners (GP’s) and specialists
for self-directed learning based on experience
and to device ways of sharing individual experiences.
In the process of fulfilling these two tasks, CPD lectures can also be utilized as a
marketing tool for both the hospital and the specialist. This means that the
specialist, in the process of presenting the lecture, can utilise this platform to
market his/her expertise and the resources of the hospital from where he
functions so as to increase the number of referrals he/she receives.
Consultation and referrals have always been important processes for both the
GP’s and specialists. It is of the utmost importance for specialists to establish
networks with the GP’s in order to establish a stable referral pattern. It is
however also important that this network pattern grows due to the fact that
competition for patients intensifies and because more and more health care
organisations are devoting more resources to understand the factors that directly
or indirectly influence patient volume. Once these factors are identified, it will be
easier to influence patient volume for the benefit of the hospital and the
specialist.