BMJ : British medical journal
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To determine the appropriateness of referrals from general practice to hospital outpatient departments. ⋯ This approach to determining the appropriateness of referrals benefits the general practitioners, the consultant, and the patient.
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Readmission rates after inpatient care were studied by using routinely collected data from the Oxford record linkage study for 1968-85. Discharges from hospital and subsequent admissions were identified for people who were both resident and treated in the area covered by the linkage study. Rates were calculated for readmissions within 28 days after discharge from the first, index event. ⋯ The rise in emergency readmissions, which has been fairly gradual over many years, may, in some cases, be due to pressure on resources and inappropriately short lengths of stay. Further evidence is required to confirm or refute this. Readmission rates are one of the few potential measures available from routine statistics for assessing outcome, but due consideration must be given to issues of method and interpretation.