Stacy R, Robinson L, Bhopal R, Spencer J
Department of Primary Health Care, School of Health Sciences, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Br J Gen Pract. 1998 Nov;48(436):1739-41.
General practitioners (GPs) do not routinely receive information about the deaths of those patients whose death certificates they have not completed. We developed and evaluated a system for producing death registers for GPs.
To evaluate GPs' and practice managers' views on, and uses of, the death register.
General practitioners in Newcastle (n = 161) and Sunderland Family Health Service Authority (n = 144) areas were sent a questionnaire on their sources and use of information about patients' deaths. Death registers were sent to Newcastle practices; Sunderland practices were the control group. A follow-up questionnaire was sent to Newcastle (n = 173) and Sunderland (n = 140) GPs after two years. Newcastle practice managers (n = 45) were interviewed after their practice had received death registers for one year.
Ninety-two per cent of Newcastle responders had seen the death register. Seventy-three per cent saw it regularly. Of those who saw it, 92% found it useful for communication within the primary health care team, bereavement follow-up, and administration and medical audit. One fifth of GPs named the death register as their first source of information about their patients' deaths. Newcastle GPs reported greater levels of change in use of patient death information than the control group. Practice managers circulated, used, and recorded information from the death register.
Death registers are valued and have demonstrable benefits with regard to administration, bereavement care, and medical audit.
全科医生通常不会收到他们未填写死亡证明的患者死亡的相关信息。我们开发并评估了一种为全科医生生成死亡登记册的系统。
评估全科医生及诊所管理人员对死亡登记册的看法及使用情况。
向纽卡斯尔（n = 161）和桑德兰家庭健康服务管理局（n = 144）地区的全科医生发送了一份关于他们获取和使用患者死亡信息来源的问卷。向纽卡斯尔的诊所发送了死亡登记册；桑德兰的诊所作为对照组。两年后向纽卡斯尔（n = 173）和桑德兰（n = 140）的全科医生发送了一份后续问卷。在纽卡斯尔的诊所收到死亡登记册一年后，对45名诊所管理人员进行了访谈。
92%的纽卡斯尔受访者看过死亡登记册。73%的人经常查看。在看过的人中，92%的人发现它对初级卫生保健团队内部沟通、丧亲后续跟进、行政和医疗审计有用。五分之一的全科医生将死亡登记册列为他们获取患者死亡信息的首要来源。纽卡斯尔的全科医生报告称，与对照组相比，他们在使用患者死亡信息方面的变化程度更大。诊所管理人员分发、使用并记录了死亡登记册中的信息。
死亡登记册很有价值，在行政、丧亲护理和医疗审计方面有明显益处。
