What is the impact of consultant supervision on outpatient follow-up rate?

This study investigated the impact of consultants on recycling rates of patients in the ENT outpatient clinic. A retrospective case review of 4205 consecutive patients who attended ENT outpatient clinics of an UK teaching hospital over a 3-month period was conducted. There was a significant association between grade of medical staff and recycling rate of new patients, and also for review patients. Junior doctors have lower recycling rates in consultant-led clinics compared with clinics in the absence of consultants for both new patients (consultant-led 41.0%, without consultant 60.1%; P < 0.01) and old patients (consultant-led 48.9%, without consultant 65.0%; P < 0.01). Individual consultant's practice was reflected upon the overall recycling rate of the clinic as a whole (r = 0.94, P = 0.001). In conclusion, individual consultant's practice dictated recycling rate in the ENT outpatient clinic. Junior doctors were less likely to make follow-up appointments when directly supervised by their consultants.