Are we giving General Practitioners what they want from Psychiatric out-patient review letters?

Abstract

We aimed to assess the quality of out-patient clinic letters in relation to GPs expectations. A questionnaire was devised and sent to 65 GPs to ascertain what they felt to be important in a psychiatric out-patient clinic letter. We examined 250 out-patient clinic letters comprising both a formatted and unformatted pattern. We compared whether one particular type of letter was more successful at providing the information specifically requested by GPs. Fifty seven per cent of GPs responded to the questionnaire. Letters following a pre-determined formatted template, although slightly longer, consistently conveyed more relevant information. Conclusion: The use of formatted letters is a means of enhancing communication between psychiatrists and GPs and within secondary psychiatry services.