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How to send a GP letter the same day
GP letters slip because they are written from a blank document at the end of a day that is already over. The content is not new — it restates the assessment, the diagnosis and the plan already in the record. Here is how to get it out the same day.
1. Finish the consult in the record first
The letter is generated from the patient record, so the order matters: complete the assessment and the plan, then draft the letter. Writing the letter first and back-filling the record is how the two end up disagreeing.
2. Draft from the consult
Open GP Letters from the patient, and the draft is built from what you just entered — presenting problem, relevant assessment findings, nutrition diagnosis, the intervention and the follow-up plan.
3. Check these three things, in this order
The diagnosis, in their language. A GP reads “malnutrition, moderate, GLIM-diagnosed” faster than a paragraph describing it. If the draft has buried it, lift it.
The ask. The most common failure in a GP letter is not saying what you want. A referral for bloods, a medication review, a re-referral for more sessions — name it explicitly, in its own sentence.
The numbers you quoted. Check weights, BMIs and targets against the record. This is the one thing you cannot delegate to a draft.
4. Sign and send
Nothing goes out until you do. There is no background process that sends correspondence on your behalf — the letter waits for you.
Why this is faster than a template
A template still requires you to re-type every patient-specific fact into it. The re-typing is the expensive part, and it is also where transcription errors enter: a weight typed twice is a weight that can be typed wrong once.
References
- Dietitians Australia, Professional Practice Standards — documentation and communication expectations for APDs.
- RACGP, Standards for general practices — what a receiving GP practice expects of referral correspondence.
Drafts support clinical documentation and do not replace clinical judgement. The treating clinician is responsible for the content of all correspondence.