Authors (including presenting author) :
Chan TB(1), Cheuk C(1), Lee MK(1), Ma HM(2), Ho TY(2), Chan CMJ(2), So WY(3), Chow KM(2), Leung KWM(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Family Medicine, Prince of Wales Hospital, (2) Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, (3) Clinical Stream Coordinator (Medical), New Territories East Cluster
Introduction :
The four General Outpatient Clinics (GOPCs) in Shatin District, the Family Medicine Specialist Clinic (FMSC), and the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (M&T) of Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) have formed a clinical enquiry platform. Doctors from GOPCs and FMSC can raise clinical questions concerning specific patients or certain medical topics, and the specialists in various M&T subspecialties will reply by email within two weeks.
Objectives :
1. Reduce SOPD referrals by answering clinical questions directly and clarifying referral criteria via email.
2. Support GOPC/ FMSC doctors on disease management
3. Provide a channel for feedback from SOPD to GOPC
Methodology :
All email communications from Mar to Dec 2023 were analyzed.
Result & Outcome :
There were 74 email communications from Mar to Dec 2023; 71 (95.9%) communications were related to specific patients; 1 was feedback from medical SOPD, and 2 were enquiries on medical topics. Among the 71 enquiries on specific cases, 49 (69.0%) referrals to SOPD were avoided due to the email communications. The M&T specialists replied within three days in 78.9% of enquiries. The most frequently consulted subspecialties were Cardiology (n=22, 31.0%), Haematology (n=13, 18.3%), Endocrine (n=10, 14.1%), Hepatology (n=7, 9.9%) and Neurology (n=6, 8.5%). Interesting cases, referral criteria and updates in clinical guidelines from this platform were presented to the GOPC and FMSC doctors during the routine departmental teleconferences.
