WP4.9 - Audit on writing outpatient clinic letters in the general surgery department at a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Abstract Background Clinic letters are crucial medical notes for a patient’s medical history and medico-legal purposes. We assessed the quality of clinic letters with the guidelines from the Academy of Medical Royal College suggested for writing a clinic letter. Method A retrospective collection of data was done from January – May 2023 and a total of 166 clinic letters were collected by independent authors and then analysed to avoid any bias in the collection. Results Multiple parameters were poorly documented and are mentioned in increasing order of missing data – Plan for patient/carer (37.5%), Care planning arrangements (44.6%), Complications (67.5%), Anaesthesia issues (89.4%), Allergies (94%), Diagnosis (94%), Time (99.4%), Preferred name (100%) and Personal identifiers (100%). These findings were presented in the clinical governance meeting and to improve the quality of the clinic letters, we created a generic clinic letter including mandatory parameters suggested by the guidelines. Conclusion There were a few parameters missing from the analysed clinic letters. An adequate intervention after being discussed in the clinical governance meeting, in the form of a generic clinic letter has been introduced. A repeat cycle is planned in 3-5 months to assess the improvement in the quality. There was a lack of documentation, which improved after the intervention advised by QIP. A teaching session for new junior doctors is planned at the induction session, to strengthen the importance of frailty documentation.