Completeness of chronic disease registration in general practice.

The completeness of chronic disease registration in four general practices was assessed by referring to the Hospital Activity Analysis. Overall, just over half (56%) of the 695 patients who had been discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of diabetes, cancer, myocardial infarction, epilepsy, hypertension, or thyroid disease were identified on the practice disease registers. Patients with diabetes were most likely to be identified (72%), and those who had had a myocardial infarct least likely (43%). If the standard of registration is to be improved general practitioners must be convinced of its value. The Hospital Activity Analysis might be used widely to audit and improve practice registers.