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Outpatient letter

Standards for digital outpatient letters allow clinical information to be recorded, exchanged and accessed consistently across care settings. Best practice for most outpatient letters is writing directly to patients.

About this standard

Owner
Professional Record Standards Body
Status
Active
Show definitions of statuses

Active standards are stable, maintained and have been assured or endorsed for use by qualified bodies.

Standards in development are APIs or API standards in alpha or beta, meaning they are available for use but are still in progress and may change.

Deprecated standards are older versions of a standard which are being phased out.

Retired standards are not being maintained and should not be used.

Standard type
  • Record standards
Show definitions of standard types

Record standards define what information to collect and how to format it, for example when registering a new patient.

Data definitions and terminologies define the format of individual data items so they can be consistently represented, for example dates or medication names. Reference sets and controlled lists are also included.

Technical standards and specifications specify how to make information available technically including how the data is structured and transported.

Information codes of practice are legal or best practice guidelines on how information should be handled.

Contact details
support@theprsb.org

Link to standard

Documentation
View documentation for this standardopens in a new tab
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Topics and care settings

Topic
  • Referrals
  • Demographics
  • Key care information
  • Prescribing
  • Patient communication
  • Information governance
  • Tests and diagnostics
Care setting
  • Community health
  • Hospital
  • Mental health
  • GP / Primary care

Dependencies and related standards

Dependencies

This standard needs to be reviewed and implemented alongside SNOMED CT, FHIR and electronic systems both ends.

Related standards

This standard relates to the group of standards by the PRSB known as the transfers of care standards.

Assurance and endorsements

Reference code for standards issued as requirements in England
None - not legally mandated
Quality assurance
Not applicable
Endorsements

This standard has been endorsed by the following organisations:

  • Royal College of General Practitioners
  • Royal College of Midwives
  • Royal College of Nursing
  • Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
  • Royal College of Occupational Therapists
  • Royal Pharmaceutical Society
  • Royal College of Physicians
  • Royal College of Psychiatrists
  • Royal College of Radiologists (Faculty of Clinical Oncology)
  • British Psychological Society
  • Resuscitation Council UK
  • Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
  • Institute of Health Records and Information Managers (IHRIM)
  • TechUK

Page last updated: 16 January 2023