How do General Practitioners learn of their patient's deaths?

To investigate the methods by which General Practitioners learn, or do not learn, of their patients deaths, when the deaths occur in an institution in which the General Practitioner has no direct role in their care.

Using a semi-structured telephone questionnaire the relevant General Practitioners were asked of the method, if any, by which they had learned of their patients deaths, and their views on this.

Sligo, Ireland.

In 6 (16%) of the 37 cases, the GP was informed of the death within one working day by hospital staff. In 22 (59%) of the cases, the GP had learned of the death through other means. In 9 (26%) of the cases the GP had not learned of the death. In 28 (75%) of the cases, the GPs were dissatisfied with either the fact that they did not know of the death, or even if they did know, the method by which they learned of the patients death.

General Practitioners, for a variety of reasons, wish to learn of their patient's deaths within a short length of time of such deaths occurring. When deaths occur in an institution in which the GP has no direct role in the care of their patients, the information is not forwarded to the GP within a reasonable length of time in the vast majority of cases. Such institutions need to realise the importance of this simple act, and to make it routine to forward the information.