© 1989 Oxford University Press
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Geriatric Outpatient Clinics: an Audit of Clinical Action, Transport and General Practitioners' Views
Department of Health Care of the Elderly, City Hospital Hucknall Road, Nottingham NG5 1PB
Address correspondence to: Dr I. P. Donald, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Great Western Road, Gloucester GL1 3NN
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.
accepted in revised form September 10, 1988.