Ensuring that primary care and other health care and third sector organisations convey the importance of diabetic retinopathy screening with patients and improving patients' understanding of the screening programme may improve uptake. Interventions to increase uptake should be targeted to younger people, especially those with type 1 diabetes and people living in more deprived areas.
Aims and methodA completed audit cycle, consisting of email surveys of all psychiatrists and a review of acute trust information technology registers was undertaken in Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, to assess whether psychiatrists could access electronic laboratory results from the neighbouring acute trust laboratory. This was replicated in Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, with an initial audit; plans were then implemented to increase access.ResultsIn Derbyshire, 14% of psychiatrists could access electronic results initially, with limited ward access. By re-audit, all wards had access, and 28% used those systems. The later initial audit in Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust revealed 6% access.Clinical implicationsBenefits of electronic results include clinical (faster decisions, safer monitoring, prompt detection of acute problems); efficiency savings (less wasted time telephoning); and other (improved relationships with general practitioners and laboratories, reduced marginalisation of patients with mental illness and professionals). There may be considerable clinical and efficiency savings for trusts.
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