Background: Quality management is part of Good Medical Practice. Surveys of both patient satisfaction and collaborative aspects of medical care amongst physicians in hospital and primary care are essential.
Methods: In February 2006, 92 questionnaires were distributed among office-based paediatricians in Leipzig and its suburbs. Until the reply deadline, which was in April 2006, 43 of the questionnaires had been completed and returned. The questionnaire examined attitudes of the referring physicians towards the hospital.
Results: Considering all answers, the Children's Hospital of the University of Leipzig received a positive rating. The results were influenced both by the age of the responding physicians and by the answer to the question of whether the respondents had previously been employed by the Children's Hospital of the University of Leipzig.
Conclusion: This survey revealed important data on the attitudes of practitioners towards the strengths and weaknesses of the hospital. As a result, concrete measures could be implemented to enhance this co-operation with general practitioners.