TY - JOUR T1 - Efficacy and safety of applying the British Thoracic Society (BTS) criteria to determine appropriateness of follow up in general respiratory clinics JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 40 IS - Suppl 56 SP - P1303 AU - Satinder Dalay AU - Vikas Punamiya AU - Shiva Bikmalla AU - Alice M. Turner AU - Rahul Mukherjee Y1 - 2012/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P1303.abstract N2 - Introduction: Respiratory physicians are under increasing pressure in England to discharge patients with chronic illnesses to primary care. The BTS statement on criteria for specialist referral, admission, discharge and follow-up for adults with respiratory disease (Thorax 2008; 63(Suppl I):i1–i16.) remains the only available basis for this dialogue.Aim: To assess the impact of implementing BTS criteria for discharge on follow-up to new ratio (“new-to-follow up” ratio) in a general respiratory clinic (efficacy) and to assess readmission rates of those discharged as a measure of appropriateness of discharge.Methods: Retrospective analysis of “New-to-Follow up” ratios of one pilot general respiratory clinic in a large teaching hospital collected over a 2 week period in July 2010; repeat analysis undertaken (Oct-Dec 2010) after a BTS statement-guided clinic reform was implemented (Jul-Dec 2010) with a management plan in the clinic letter. Unscheduled hospital admission in 6 months following the date of the clinic discharge were compared with preceding 6 months.Results: Number of Follow-up-to-new ratio pre-reform was 5.0 (144/29); post-reform improved to 0.86 (111/129); clinic waiting time fell from 13 to 5 weeks.There was a significant drop in all-cause and respiratory-related admission rates for those who were reviewed and discharged.View this table:Re-admission dataConclusion: Patient-focussed, multidisciplinary approach to long-term respiratory conditions allows accurate diagnosis and appropriate discharge planning to take place using the BTS criteria. ER -