Mind the message: Referral letter quality at a South African medical outpatient department.

CONCLUSIONS: Most letters lacked important clinical information, probably because of a combination of factors: gaps in clinical knowledge of referring clinicians who service a population with a high burden of disease and complex pathology; under-resourced peripheral healthcare clinics; inadequate staff-to-patient ratios; and time constraints. A suggested focus for improvement is education at undergraduate and postgraduate level, which should emphasise preparation for community service, specifically highlighting techniques for preparing good-quality referrals. PMID: 32657724 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: South African Medical Journal - Category: African Health Tags: S Afr Med J Source Type: research