System for long-term review of patients at risk of becoming hypothyroid. Further experience.

8 years' experience of a computer-assisted system for long-term follow-up of patients at risk of hypothyroidism shows that the system is reliable, efficient, and economical. Less than 0.1% of registered patients are now lost to follow-up and less than 2% of patients need to be seen by the medical staff each year. Changes have been made in registration procedures and in the methods of finding patient who fail to attend. Improvements in the laboratory screening of thyroid function have also been introduced. The need to follow-up patients already under treatment with thyroxine has been recognised and the importance of a reliable system is reaffirmed.