Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T09:18:46.804Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Improving correspondence to general practitioners regarding patients attending the ENT emergency clinic: a regional general practitioner survey and audit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2007

J Wasson ,
L Pearce  and
T Alun-Jones
J Wasson*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK
L Pearce
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK
T Alun-Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Mr Joseph Wasson, 15 West Way, Carshalton Beeches, Surrey SM5 4EJ, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction:

The ENT emergency clinic provides an important out-patient service; however, often, no correspondence is sent to the general practitioner.

Aim:

To conduct a general practitioner questionnaire audit in order to assess whether a standardised, computerised clinic letter template could improve communication between the ENT emergency clinic and patients' general practitioners.

Standard:

All ENT emergency clinic patients should have a summary letter sent to their general practitioner.

Methods:

One hundred general practitioner questionnaires were enclosed with the first 100 ENT emergency clinic template letters sent to patients' general practitioners.

Results:

Seventy-two general practitioners responded (72 per cent). Of these respondents, only 7 per cent had previously received regular correspondence from the ENT emergency clinic before the introduction of the computerised letter template. Following its implementation, such a letter was sent to 100 per cent of the clinic patients' general practitioners. Ninety-seven per cent of the general practitioners valued the template letter, with a mean satisfaction score of 8.4 on a 10-point scale. Eighty-six per cent of the general practitioners stated that they would not prefer a dictated letter.

Conclusion:

The introduction of a simple, computerised clinic letter template improves communication with ENT emergency clinic patients' general practitioners.

Keywords

Otolaryngology, EmergenciesCorrespondence, Primary Health CareQuestionnairesGreat Britain
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 121 , Issue 12 , December 2007 , pp. 1189 - 1193
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Hobson, JC, Khemani, S, Singh, A. Prospective audit of the quality of ENT emergency clinic notes before and after introduction of a computerized template. J Laryngol Otol 2005;119:264–6Google Scholar
2 General Medical Council. Good Medical Practice. London: General Medical Council, 2001Google Scholar
3 The Royal College of Surgeons of England. Guidelines for Clinicians on Medical Records and Notes. London: The Royal College of Surgeons of England, 1994Google Scholar
4 Van den Brink, JL, Moorman, PW, de Boer, MF, Kerrebijn, JD. An extra letter, care gets better? Informing general practitioners about planned surgery for head and neck cancer. J Otolaryngol 2004;33:377–81Google Scholar
5 Ray, S, Archbold, RA, Preston, S, Ranjadayalan, K, Suliman, A, Timmis, AD. Computer-generated correspondence for patients attending an open-access chest pain clinic. J R Coll Physicians Lond 1998;32:420–1Google Scholar
6 Farquhar, MC, Barclay, SI, Earl, H, Grande, GE, Emery, J, Crawford, RA. Barriers to effective communication across the primary/secondary interface: examples from the ovarian cancer patient journey (a qualitative study). Eur J Cancer Care (Engl) 2005;14:359–66CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed