FACSIMILE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS AND GPS, AND PATIENT DATA CONFIDENTIALITY

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.