Dm. Taylor et al., FACSIMILE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS AND GPS, AND PATIENT DATA CONFIDENTIALITY, Medical journal of Australia, 167(11-12), 1997, pp. 575-578
Objective: To assess general practitioners' perceptions of the effecti
veness of facsimile notification of their patients being admitted from
the emergency department (ED), and its adequacy in terms of patient c
onfidentiality. Design: Questionnaire survey, before and after the ini
tiation of facsimile notification. Setting: A provincial community of
approximately 120 000 residents in Victoria. Main outcome measures: Ch
anges in GPs' ratings of communication with the ED; acceptability of f
acsimile notification; and concerns about patient confidentiality. Res
ults: 77 of 85 GPs participated; only 44 (57.1%) returned both questio
nnaires. ED-GP communication ratings of ''adequate'' or better increas
ed from 48% to 100% (P<0.05). The proportion of GPs who were notified
of all admissions increased from 0 to 41% (P<0.05). The proportion of
GPs who preferred facsimile for notification increased from 39% to 68%
(P<0.05). Most GPs found the initiative acceptable and reservations a
bout confidentiality decreased from 36% to 16% (P<0.05). 38 of the 887
patients admitted from the ED (4.3%) refused facsimile notification.
Conclusions: Facsimile improves ED-GP communications and may, in turn,
improve the quality and continuity of patient care. Informed consent
should be obtained from all patients.