Mutual referral: a survey of GPs in Beijing.

Background: China has been engaged in the process of reforming its health care system recently. The government has attempted to rebuild the referral system to lower cost and enhance equity of the medical services.

Objective: This study was undertaken to evaluate the current status of mutual referral pilot programme, perceived factors that affect referral behaviour and changes that would improve the current referral process in Beijing.

Mortality in general practice: problems concerning deaths in institutions.

Following the provision of all general practitioners in Grampian with data on their practice death rates, the experience of death rates at institutions in the region was examined. Nursing homes are more likely to be situated in less deprived areas and their age-specific death rates are generally higher than those experienced by residents from non-institutional settings. For residents in non-institutional settings in Grampian, higher death rates generally parallel increasing deprivation.

Monitoring mortality in general practice in Grampian, Scotland.

Information on the distribution of mortality and morbidity in general practice is scarce, and not easily accessible either by health authorities or individual general practices. Although the assessment of population mortality is a standard public health measure, colleagues in public health, information sciences and general practice rarely undertake such activity related to general practice populations. Mortality information can be used for various purposes.