mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

Dissecting Medical Referral Mechanisms in Health Services: Role of Physician Professional Networks

arXiv 2312.02387 ↗First posted 4 Dec 2023cs.CY cs.LG cs.SIcited by 1

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Abstract (arXiv)

Medical referrals between primary care physicians (PC) and specialist care (SC) physicians profoundly impact patient care regarding quality, satisfaction, and cost. This paper investigates the influence of professional networks among medical doctors on referring patients from PC to SC. Using five-year consultation data from a Portuguese private health provider, we conducted exploratory data analysis and constructed both professional and referral networks among physicians. We then apply Graph Neural Network (GNN) models to learn latent representations of the referral network. Our analysis supports the hypothesis that doctors' professional social connections can predict medical referrals, potentially enhancing collaboration within organizations and improving healthcare services. This research contributes to dissecting the underlying mechanisms in primary-specialty referrals, thereby providing valuable insights for enhancing patient care and effective healthcare management.

Key facts. Cited by 1 paper in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Builds on 14 of its 55 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 4 Dec 2023.

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14 of 55 references.

References · 14

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2 more
  1. 2020Clinical Recommender System: Predicting Medical Specialty Diagnostic Choices with Neural Network Ensemblescited by 2
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Citing papers per year: 2025: 1.

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  1. 2025C-PATH: Conversational Patient Assistance and Triage in Healthcare Systemcited by 1