Using a Structured Discharge Letter Template to Improve Communication During the Transition from a Specialized Outpatient Diabetes Clinic to a Primary Care Physician.
Can J Diabetes
; 39(6): 457-66, 2015 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26454683
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Transition from specialists to primary care physicians is dependent on clear communication by means of a discharge letter. Primary care physicians have indicated that letters from specialists rarely contain the details they require. As part of a quality-improvement project to improve the transition from diabetes clinics to primary care physicians, a structured discharge letter template was developed to facilitate the dictation of useful letters by specialists. The objective was to evaluate the content and quality of discharge letters created using a structured discharge letter template as compared to letters completed without the template.METHODS:
Retrospective study of patients treated at the Ottawa Hospital and discharged from the outpatient diabetes clinic between November 1, 2009, and December 1, 2010. The letters were reviewed by 2 independent reviewers and were assessed for content, brevity, clarity, management plan, organization and quality. Word count, dictation and transcription times were also compared.RESULTS:
Letters completed using the structured discharge letter template were more comprehensive and more likely to contain guidelines on management for glycemic control (51.1% vs. 14.1%; p<0.001); cardiovascular risk factors (65.61% vs. 9.8%; p<0.001); diabetes complications (79.9% vs. 5.9%; p<0.001); and provided re-referral criteria (89.3% vs. 15.7%; p<0.001). Dictation time did not differ between formats. Transcription time (2065 min vs. 1345 min; p<0.01) and word count (502 words vs. 292 words; p<0.001) were higher with the template.CONCLUSIONS:
The use of a structured discharge letter template improved the content and quality of discharge letters dictated by specialists. Primary care physicians were more consistently provided with valued information and given criteria for re-referral.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Pacientes Ambulatoriais
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Alta do Paciente
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Especialização
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Correspondência como Assunto
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Continuidade da Assistência ao Paciente
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Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2
/
Médicos de Atenção Primária
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
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Guideline
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Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Can J Diabetes
Ano de publicação:
2015
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Canadá