THE QUALITY AND RELATIONSHIP OF REFERRAL AND REPLY LETTERS - THE EFFECT OF INTRODUCING A PRO FORMA LETTER

Objective. An intervention study was conducted to assess the effect of a pro forma letter on the quality of referral letters from general pr actitioners at a rural hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, and on the quality a nd rate of replies received. Method. 254 referral letters and 111 repl ies were evaluated. Results. The quality of referral letters improved after the introduction of the pro forma letter but the quality of repl ies did not. The reply rate (43.5%) did not change, and the quality of replies showed a low correlation with the quality of referral letters , indicating that improvements in the quality of referral letters will not necessarily bring about improvements in the quality of replies. I nstead, the reply rate was found to be influenced mainly by the hospit al to which the patient was referred. Replies were also observed to fu nction poorly as a means of continuing medical education. Conclusion. Pro forma fetters improve the quality of referral letters, but on thei r own do not improve the rate and quality of replies. Personal contact between referring doctors and consultants would seem to be an importa nt factor in respect of the latter.