Towards better discharge summaries: brevity and structure

In an investigation of the communication between Hospital and General Practitioners, 99 General Practitioners were asked by means of a postal questionnaire to state the relative importance they attached to the issues of speed of delivery, format, author, and the content of the discharge summaries. The issue of speed of delivery proved to be a central and recurrent theme in the replies received, with a clear demand for increased speed and efficiency in Hospital-General Practitioner communication. In addition, an overwhelming support was revealed for summaries in the form of short prioritised problem lists, as opposed to longer conventional prose accounts. This response proved to be independent of the style of summary being received by the General Practitioners in the study. With a clear need nationally to improve communication with General Practitioners, consideration should be given to adopting prioritised problem lists as a means of upgrading the quality of data sent to General Practitioners.