REFERRAL LETTERS - ARE FORM LETTERS BETTER

An essential mode of contact between general practitioners (GPs) and h ospital staff is the referral letter. This must be clear and concise w ith sufficient information to aid the GP, the consultant and the patie nt. In order to ensure this, a proposal was made for the use of a stru ctured or standardized referral letter: a form letter. This report sho ws that form letters were shorter than typed letters. Form letters wer e also proven to contain more information than non-form letters.