Strengths and weaknesses of electronic referral: comparison of data content and clinical value of electronic and paper referrals in dermatology.

One hundred and thirty-one electronic referrals and 129 paper referrals were reviewed and their content analysed. Four items of demographic data were better recorded in the electronic referrals. Three items of clinical data were significantly better recorded in the paper referrals. The mean global clinical score for clinical relevance was greater for paper referrals than electronic referrals. This study illustrates the strength of electronic referrals for communicating demographic data and their weakness when revealing what is wrong with the patient.