Written advice can provide a safe and acceptable alternative to new patient assessment for selected referrals to haematologists.
Med J Aust
; 188(1): 9-12, 2008 Jan 07.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-18205554
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To measure the safety and acceptability of providing written advice (WA) for selected patients referred to a haematology service, as an alternative to inpatient or outpatient assessment. DESIGN, SETTING ANDPARTICIPANTS:
Review of the initial management and subsequent course of patients newly referred to a tertiary referral hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand, between 16 October 2003 and 8 June 2006. Structured questionnaires were sent to all referring doctors and patients recently managed with WA. MAIN OUTCOMEMEASURES:
Numbers and diagnoses of patients managed with WA, early assessment or delayed assessment; re-referral and treatment details; characteristics of WA letters; and opinions of referring doctors and their patients on the WA process.RESULTS:
26% of new referrals (714/2785) were managed with prompt WA, while 16% (455/2785) received the alternative of delayed assessment. After a median follow-up of 23 months (range, 8-40 months), 13% of those managed with WA (91/714) were re-referred back to the same haematologists; 7% (52/714) were assessed in hospital and 2% (15/714) eventually required treatment. There were no deaths due to haematological causes. Over 90% of responding referring doctors said the WA process was rapid and effective, and 77% of recently managed patients were pleased to be treated by their own doctors.CONCLUSIONS:
Using WA to manage a substantial minority of patients referred to haematologists can be rapid and safe. It is widely accepted by referring doctors.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Encaminhamento e Consulta
/
Correspondência como Assunto
/
Educação de Pacientes como Assunto
/
Hematologia
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Humans
País como assunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2008
Tipo de documento:
Article