The study, published in the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, was led by University of California at San Francisco gastroenterologist Chanda K. Ho, MD, MPH. Dr. Ho and colleagues used the Delphi method to create a consensus for an appropriate pre-referral workup process for 13 GI and liver conditions, according to the report.
Three primary care physicians and nine gastroenterologists served on an expert panel. The panel participated in three rounds of electronic surveys. The University of Michigan outpatient referral guidelines were used as a base. After applying the Delphi method, the study authors found there were considerable changes to the referral guidelines, according to the report.
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