AB105. SOH24AB_073. Time to change: a template for improving efficiency and patient safety in outpatient correspondence

Background: In the delivery of healthcare to patients, it is imperative decisions are evidence based, and informed by the best available information pertaining to the patient. This data has most value when it is accurate, up to date, comprehensive, concise and accessible. Failure of adequate or pertinent information in outpatient letters could lead to myriad inefficiencies and risks to patients.

Methods: Analysis of the quality of outpatient letters by accessing T-ProTM (a medical dictation software) and prospectively recording data points included in letters dictated from the general surgical outpatient clinic was conducted. Physical healthcare records were used to determine if information was absent. The time taken to read correspondence, and duration to seek additional information if required was determined. An education session instructing on the use of an outpatient letter template was conducted. The data was recaptured after this intervention.

Results: A reduction in the absence of information from 54% to 1% (P<0.0001) was observed. The time required reading return patients’ letters to fulfil all information decreased from 79 seconds to 34 seconds (P<0.0001). No patient after the introduction of the template required further reading of other letters to attain missing information.

Conclusions: An outpatient clinic letter template improves data recording of pertinent patient information. It reduces time spent reading and searching through extraneous documents. This has benefits across ergonomic and efficiency metrics in the outpatient clinic, it allows for easier pre-operative planning and patient safety, and provides a valuable reservoir of information on presentation of the emergent patient.

Keywords: Outpatient letter; template; correspondence; efficiency; time