Sir.—As pediatric gastroenterologists in a referral center, we were surprised by the correspondence of Dr Stickler1 in the May 1989 issue of AJDC, stating that colleagues should only be telephoned if there is an emergency or information is needed "right this minute." Therefore, we conducted a survey of the 177 physicians who refer patients to us. We asked the physicians whether they wanted to be called at the time of consultation or would rather wait to be notified by letter. Of the 177 physicians polled, 132 (75%) responded. Of those responding, 86% requested a telephone call, 10% preferred not to be called, 2% wanted to be called only for emergencies, and 2% provided miscellaneous answers. We received numerous unsolicited comments, all of which were positive.
We trained in a large center and are cognizant of the ease with which pediatricians can lose patients to an amorphous system.