An Audit of Letters of Referral to a Prosthodontic Department in a Dental Teaching Hospital

The purpose of this study was to investigate the quality and number of letters of referral for new patients received in the Prosthodontics Department of a Dental Teaching Hospital. Letters received during the month of May 2006 were included. Each letter of referral was tested against five criteria which might be expected in an appropriate letter of referral. These were information on the following: relevant dental history, relevant medical history, teeth present, diagnosis, and treatment plan. The results showed that only 8% of letters met all five criteria and 11% met none of them. Letters requesting better information were sent to referring practitioner as a result of this audit. However a re-audit in May 2007 showed that 9% of letters met all five criteria and 15% met none of them. A need has been identified for better referral letters and ways of achieving this were discussed.