Awareness day #reportforthephysician on October 19
20 Flemish GP circles have proclaimed October 19 as the "day of the report for the GP". On that day, they want to draw attention to the importance of good reporting by specialists in and outside hospitals, in a variety of ways.
Reports for the GP: crucial in our health care system
The GP is the key figure in primary care for the patient. The GP manages the patient's general medical record (GMD), and also gets a government premium to do so. Maintaining an overview of a patient's health condition requires a daily record of incoming correspondence, lab results and tests of all kinds.
For managing their patient records, GPs rely heavily on reports coming in from second line healthcare providers. Physician-specialists' findings are then integrated into the electronic medical record by the GP. Good, timely and correctly addressed reports from the second line to the primary healthcare providers are thus crucial within our healthcare system.
Why this awareness raising day? Is communication between the primary healthcare providers and second line not going well?
So why the need for an awareness raising day? Is reporting from hospitals not going well? Liesbeth Devreker (GPs association Zennevallei), who took the initiative: “It's going smoothly. On behalf of the GPs, we want to express our gratitude for the reports that get sent every day in a good and timely manner. We realize that drafting a good discharge summary, with clear conclusions and recommendations, takes time. It's great that specialists take such care.”
“But every form of communication can be improved. Sometimes no report gets written after an important consultation, where, for example, medication is changed or where there are new findings. Sometimes the language in the report is very unclear. It is also still too common for reports not to be sent to the correct GP, or for letters not to contain a recipient. The GP can then access them through the so-called hubs, but they get no notification and they have to play catch-up all the time. We therefore ask that you be sure to also send your report directly to the physician in charge of the GMD and not just post it on the HUB. Not enough information comes through from private practices of specialists, either.”
By the way, GPs will be the first to admit they can improve as well. Their communication to the hospitals could also be improved. Devreker: “We remind our GPs of the importance of complete and clear referral letters and call attention to good health summaries or Sumehrs. Physicians' referral letters, by the way, definitely need to be sent more electronically.”
What's happening on October 19?
"We write our patients' health history together’: that is the message that 20 GP circles will bring to specialists in a variety of ways. The hashtag #reportfortheGP will go viral, there will be flyers, e-mails will be sent, gadgets will be dropped into specialists' inboxes, and so on. In several places in Flanders, GPs' representatives will express their gratitude for the reports written by specialists.
The action is an initiative of GPs association Zennevallei and enjoys the support of Domus Medica and the Order of Physicians.