[Adherence to the national guidelines regarding referral of patients with knee osteoarthritis to orthopedic consultation].

The aim of the study was to investigate: 1) the proportion of referrals from primary care to orthopedic consultations that included the information requested by the national guidelines for patients with knee osteoarthritis, and 2) the proportion of referrals that specified whether patients had completed first-line treatment. A total of 140 referrals were examined. None of the referrals adhered fully to the national guidelines, and none included information on whether the patient had completed first-line treatment. This suggests that the referral process for this patient group needs to be reviewed and improved. We propose three possible changes regarding the referral process, including an enhanced role for physical therapists and the patients themselves and a digital referral platform enabling easier communication between different professions.