Geriatric outpatient clinics: an audit of clinical action, transport and general practitioners' views.
An audit was performed of patients attending geriatric outpatient clinics for review during a calendar month. Patients were asked to complete a brief questionnaire and 93% of case notes were available for study. In 97 attendances, management was altered in 36, a new medical problem found in 16, and 49 patients were discharged. Forty-seven attendances followed recent discharge from hospital; 19 of these patients had no evident clinical benefit from attendance, although the majority were discharged. There may be scope for a liaison nurse to take over the follow-up of some patients to save their attending a clinic. A survey of local general practitioners suggested they would welcome this.
Donald
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Department of Health Care of the Elderly, City Hospital, Nottingham.
Berman
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D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014187:Transportation of Patients; D006113:United Kingdom