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

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.