On busy wards with high turnover it is possible for patients to be discharged without having had outpatient appointment follow-up organised. In a paper-based context junior doctors were finding it difficult to keep track for which patients appointments had been requested.
The OPD Audit Tool analysed notations added by doctors on an electronic Patient List Summary Report system available in the local clinical context. The tool provided a printout of appointment requests in the format required by the receiving booking office. A supplemental report also listed patients for whom appropriate follow-up had not yet been decided.
Since its introduction in late 2018, this tool was used about 100 times before being retired in 2019. The tool was not readily generalisable between ward systems, and its success required junior staff on a given team to take ownership over service quality.