In-depth interviews of non-hepatologists and the achievements made after introducing a “patient referral document for hepatitis” in our hospital

In 2017, we interviewed 23 non-hepatologists regarding chronic hepatitis B (CHB) using in-depth interviews. The rate of introducing patients to hepatologists was significantly higher among physicians (13/17, 76%) than that among surgeons (1/6, 17%, p = 0.036). Most non-hepatologists considered that the main reasons they did not introduce patients with CHB to hepatologists were a lack of time for preparing patient referral documents and ignorance regarding how introduce patients. They also highlighted that to improve the introduction rate, simplifying the patient referral document and creating an easy medical reservation system are required. Based on this research, in August 2017 we introduced the “patient referral document for hepatitis” in our hospital. Since then, the number of patients being introduced has increased by 1.6 times compared with the previous year. Based on the additional data, the construction of a more effective introduction system is recommended.