title: An audit of the quality of referral letters received by the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dublin Dental School and Hospital.
abstract: One hundred consecutive referral letters, sent by dental practitioners to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dublin Dental School and Hospital, were audited in terms of quality. The audit was based on the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) recommendations of 1998. The audit demonstrated that in general referral letters required modification and did not give the clinician the required information. This paper sets out the results of the audit and suggests a template that should be used for future referrals.
authors.affiliation: Dublin Dental Hospital, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moloney
authors.forename: Leo F A
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Stassen
mesh_terms: D015709:Correspondence as Topic; D019230:Dental Audit; D003792:Dental Records; D003796:Dental Service, Hospital; D005568:Forms and Records Control; D058006:General Practice; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006782:Hospitals, Special; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D012575:Schools, Dental; D013515:Surgery, Oral; D014956:Writing