Can J Diabetes
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Transition from specialists to primary care physicians is dependent on clear communication by means of a discharge letter. Primary care physicians have indicated that letters from specialists rarely contain the details they require. As part of a quality-improvement project to improve the transition from diabetes clinics to primary care physicians, a structured discharge letter template was developed to facilitate the dictation of useful letters by specialists. The objective was to evaluate the content and quality of discharge letters created using a structured discharge letter template as compared to letters completed without the template. ⋯ The use of a structured discharge letter template improved the content and quality of discharge letters dictated by specialists. Primary care physicians were more consistently provided with valued information and given criteria for re-referral.