Improving the quality of outpatient clinic letters using the Sheffield Assessment Instrument for Letters (SAIL).

Aim: To improve the quality of outpatient letters used as communication between hospital and primary care doctors.

Methods: On 2 separate occasions, 15 unselected outpatient letters written by each of 7 hospital practitioners were rated by another hospital doctor and a general practitioner (GP) using the Sheffield Assessment Instrument for Letters (SAIL). Individualised feedback was provided to participants following the rating of the first set of letters.