ArticleBJGP open2020
GP perspectives on hospital discharge letters: an interview and focus group study.
Article in BJGP open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trial
- Implementation of a complex intervention to improve hospital discharge: process evaluation of a cluster randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2021Trial
- Implementing discharge summary documentation: a quality improvement initiative in a Nigerian hospital.BMJ open quality · 2026Article
- After-visit and discharge summaries: a scoping review of stakeholder perspectives and experiences.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Diagnosis decoded: a taxonomy and natural language processing analysis of the diagnosis section in German hospital discharge summaries.Health care management science · 2025Article
- Beyond 'low salt, low fat': Reimagining nutrition advice in the cardiac discharge summary.American journal of preventive cardiology · 2025Article
- Evaluating ChatGPT for converting clinic letters into patient-friendly language: a quantitative study.BJGP open · 2025Article
- Article
- Diagnosis Documentation Done Right: Cross-Specialty Standard for the Diagnosis Section in German Discharge Summaries - A Mixed-Methods Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- Do marked discharge summaries with recommendation text boxes enhance patient safety? A nationwide survey.BJGP open · 2025Article
- 'You're Just Thinking About Going Home': Exploring Person-Centred Medication Communication With Older Patients at Hospital Discharge.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Improving patients', carers' and primary care healthcare professionals' experiences of discharge communication from specialist palliative care to community settings: a protocol for a qualitative interview study.BMC palliative care · 2024Article
- Designing a tool ensuring older patients the right medication at the right time after discharge from hospital- the first step in a participatory design process.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- The complexities of communication at hospital discharge of older patients: a qualitative study of healthcare professionals' views.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- A pilot study evaluating the feasibility of assessing undergraduate pharmacy and medical students interprofessional collaboration during an online interprofessional education intervention about hospital discharge.BMC medical education · 2023Article
- ChatGPT in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.Indian journal of plastic surgery : official publication of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India · 2023Review
- Communication of palliative care needs in discharge letters from hospice providers to primary care: a multisite sequential explanatory mixed methods study.BMC palliative care · 2022Article
- Article
- Bridging the feedback gap: a sociotechnical approach to informing clinicians of patients' subsequent clinical course and outcomes.BMJ quality & safety · 2021Article
- What makes a "successful" or "unsuccessful" discharge letter? Hospital clinician and General Practitioner assessments of the quality of discharge letters.BMC health services research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWritten discharge communication following inpatient or outpatient clinic discharge is essential for communicating information to the GP, but GPs' opinions on discharge communication are seldom sought. Patients are sometimes copied into this communication, but the reasons for this variation, and the resultant effects, remain unclear.
aimTo explore GP perspectives on how discharge letters can be improved in order to enhance patient outcomes. DESIGN &
settingThe study used narrative interviews with 26 GPs from 13 GP practices within the West Midlands, England.
methodInterviews were transcribed and data were analysed using corpus linguistics (CL) techniques.
resultsElements pivotal to a successful letter were: diagnosis, appropriate follow-up plan, medication changes and reasons, clinical summary, investigations and/or procedures and outcomes, and what information has been given to the patient. GPs supported patients receiving discharge letters and expounded a number of benefits of this practice; for example, increased patient autonomy. Nevertheless, GPs felt that if patients are to receive direct discharge letter copies, modifications such as use of lay language and avoidance of acronyms may be required to increase patient understanding.
conclusionGPs reported that discharge letters frequently lacked content items they assessed to be important; GPs highlighted that this can have subsequent ramifications on resources and patient experiences. Templates should be devised that put discharge letter elements assessed to be important by GPs to the forefront. Future research needs to consider other perspectives on letter content, particularly those of patients.
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