Audit of work-load of physicians with a special interest in respiratory medicine

A 6-month prospective survey was undertaken to assess the work-load of two consultant general physicians with special interest in respiratory medicine, one in a teaching hospital (TH) and the other in a district general hospital (DGH). The two firms dealt with similar numbers of inpatients of whom half had non-respiratory disease. Eighty per cent of the outpatient work of both firms was respiratory disease. The TH firm saw more referrals from other consultants and referred more patients, especially to other physicians. Practical procedures performed, the proportion of patients seen by the consultant at first attendance and the range of both respiratory and general medical conditions seen by the two firms was similar.