Specialist and generalist providers collaborate using video conferencing

What is it about?

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a complex chronic illness about which generalist primary care providers know little. Specialist hepatologist providers specialize in HCV infection. This article examines how specialists providers collaborate with generalist providers managing people infected with HCV using video conferencing in a collaborative mentorship model.

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Why is it important?

This article makes several contributions. First, prior research assumes that generalist providers only ask specialists about specific topics -- diagnosis and treatment related to HCV. Our research shows that in addition to these known topics, generalist providers also ask about several other topics, including interpreting findings, communication strategies, and organizational procedures. Second, our findings show that the question types generalists ask suggest applying general medical knowledge to specialty care in unexpected ways. We hypothesize that generalists learn the boundaries of their knowledge through regular interaction with specialists through video conferencing. Finally, the article uses a new research method, theme-oriented discourse analysis, to generate findings.

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