The challenge of outpatient clinical triage in paediatric gastroenterology

Abstract

Demand for paediatric outpatientsubspecialty clinics is increasing.Clinical triage has an important rolein workflow and ensuring patients areseen in a timely manner, appropriate totheir clinical need. Clinicians who triagereferrals rely on provision of adequateclinical information and relevantinvestigations. Referrals to a paediatricgastroenterology outpatient service ina large tertiary hospital were auditedprospectively to determineappropriateness of clinical informationand investigations provided, and toidentify gastrointestinal conditionswhere general practitioners may benefitfrom targeted education. To theauthors’ knowledge, this is the firststudy assessing challenges of clinicaltriage i..