Patient Satisfaction: Receiving a copy of the GP letter following fracture or elective orthopaedic clinic

Following orthopaedic/fracture clinics at our hospital, patients now receive a copy of the letter summarizing an outpatient consultation that is sent to their General Practitioner. We undertook a patient satisfaction questionnaire to determine if patients found this change in practice beneficial. Of the 83 patients who had received this letter, most patients had read the letter (96%) and understood the content (90%). 13% were worried after having read the content and 86% found it helpful. Of the 40 patients who did not receive a copy, 32 (80%) specified that they would wish to in the future. The results support the new practice although it could be improved by identifying those who do not wish to be included thereby reducing costs.