Letter-of-introduction management trial using the medical support system

Abstract

It has been found that follow-up procedures for letters of introduction from other hospitals to the Kurobe City Hospital are not satisfactory. To correct this discontent, starting January 4, 2010 the hospital began drafting example letters of introduction and responses into its medical support system called Yahgee. This system is a document-making tool, which additionally serves as a database. Simultaneously, the hospital also began generating Yahgee documents providing information about letters of introduction from other hospitals.

A classification was introduced to each document, differentiating between a first report, an interim report and a final report. This enables a check whether a final report had been written or not. Additionally the inter-regional association room was released of the huge office work of inputting information about letters of introduction into the database.

It became also possible to officially publish a monthly report stating those cases, which haven't yet seen a final report. Before April 2010 the system was adjusted again including introduction information from other hospitals. Since then, it became possible to not only distinguish whether a final report had been written or not but also sort documents that do not need a further reply or those for which the final report will take a much longer time. Furthermore, each physician is now able to easily draw his own list from the database of cases, which haven't yet been finalized with a final report.