An Audit of Clinical Problems and Activities during Consultations
Abstract
A study of an urban primary medical care facility in Pretoria
Objective:
To audit the clinical problems and consultation activities in an urban primary care facility.
Design:
A cross-sectional prospective descriptive study.
Setting:
The out-patient divisions of the Department of Family
Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, at HF Verwoerd Hospital in Pretoria.
Method:
Data on patient profiles, presenting problems, special
investigations, referrals and duration of the consultations were gathered by the participating doctors for a period of 19 weeks.
Results:
The mean age of the patients was 46,1 years. 9 559 consultations, during which 17 096 problems were attended to, were recorded. The mean duration per consultation was twelve minutes, blood tests were performed on 5,4% of the patients and 10% underwent radio-logical investigations. The referral rate to specialist departments was 15,2%.
Conclusions:
The results provide a base from which future planning and management of the service in the Department can be
improved, trends determined and the quality for both patients and personnel improved.
Objective:
To audit the clinical problems and consultation activities in an urban primary care facility.
Design:
A cross-sectional prospective descriptive study.
Setting:
The out-patient divisions of the Department of Family
Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, at HF Verwoerd Hospital in Pretoria.
Method:
Data on patient profiles, presenting problems, special
investigations, referrals and duration of the consultations were gathered by the participating doctors for a period of 19 weeks.
Results:
The mean age of the patients was 46,1 years. 9 559 consultations, during which 17 096 problems were attended to, were recorded. The mean duration per consultation was twelve minutes, blood tests were performed on 5,4% of the patients and 10% underwent radio-logical investigations. The referral rate to specialist departments was 15,2%.
Conclusions:
The results provide a base from which future planning and management of the service in the Department can be
improved, trends determined and the quality for both patients and personnel improved.