Changing the routine: a move to patient initiated follow up to improve surgical outpatient clinic.

Introduction: Patient initiated follow up (PIFU) allows patients to initiate a hospital follow up appointment on an 'as required' basis in contrast to the traditional physician-initiated model. We present a clinical pathway for patients referred with rectal bleeding at a large tertiary public hospital in South Auckland, New Zealand and demonstrate the utility of PIFU and its impact on reducing follow up appointments.

Method: The purpose of the pathway was to allow standardized care by the clinicians and allow for PIFU.