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General practitioner ENT referral audit
J C Oosthuizen1, D McShane, J Kinsella
1The Adelaide and Meath, Incorporating the National Children's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, c.oosth@gmail.com.
Insights
General practitioners show poor adherence to the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) referral guidelines for Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) services. This impacts the accurate assessment of patient referrals.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Health Services Research
- General Practice
Background:
- In 2009, Ireland's outpatient clinics saw 3.3 million attendances, with 20% directed to ENT services.
- High referral volumes necessitate efficient and standardized referral processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate general practitioners' compliance with the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) referral guidelines.
- To assess the quality of referrals submitted to ENT services.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective analysis of 100 patient referrals to ENT services.
- Referrals were compared against the ICGP standardized referral form and scored out of 37 points.
Main Results:
- The average referral score was 16/37, indicating low overall compliance.
- Referrer details scored highest (72.9-75.4%), while clinical information (34-35%) and examination findings (only 32% of letters) were poorly documented.
- Patient details also scored low, averaging 42%.
Conclusions:
- There is a significant lack of compliance with the ICGP standardized referral form among general practitioners.
- Poor adherence to guidelines negatively affects the accurate grading and processing of ENT referrals.
Background:
During 2009, there were 3.3 million outpatient attendances at outpatient clinics across Ireland. Up to 20 % of these are directed towards ENT services.
Aims:
To determine the compliance rate of general practitioners with the ICGP referral guidelines.
Methods:
One-hundred referrals received were compared to the ICGP standardised form and graded accordingly. Each referral letter was graded to a maximum of 37 points.
Results:
The average score recorded for referrals was 16/37. The referrer detail section scored the highest with a mean of 75.42 % (paediatric referrals) and 72.9 % (adult referrals). The clinical information provided demonstrated compliance rates of 34 % (paediatrics) and 35 % (adults). In total, only 32 letters made any reference to findings on examination. Both paediatric and adult referrals scored an average of 42 % when patients' details are considered.
Conclusion:
This study demonstrates poor compliance rates with the introduced ICGP standardised referral form, which has implications for the accurate grading of referral letters received.
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