Outreach surgical consulting services in North East Victoria

ObjectiveThere is a paucity of data regarding the provision of consultative outreach specialist surgical services to rural areas. This paper aims to describe a model of outreach consultative practice to deliver specialist surgical services to rural communities. DesignAnalysis of prospectively collected data for consultations in a three month period for two surgeons based in Wangaratta. SettingTwo surgeons in regional Victoria based in Wangaratta, North East Victoria, conducting outreach consultations to Beechworth, Benalla, Bright and Mansfield. ParticipantsAll patients seen in consultations over a 3-month period. Main outcome measuresPatient workload, casemix of presenting complaint, consultation outcome including plan for surgical procedure. ResultsOutreach surgical consulting was associated with a higher proportion of new consultations, and there was trend towards being more likely to result in a surgical procedure than consultations in the base rural centre. ConclusionsOutreach surgical consulting provides surgeons with a larger referral base and provides communities with better access to local specialists. Outreach practice should be encouraged for surgeons in regional centres.