The delivery of interim discharge summaries to general practitioners by the elderly.

Two hundred and four patients discharged from an acute geriatric unit were given an interim discharge summary for delivery to their General Practitioner (GP). All but three summaries were received by the practices. Information regarding mode and timing of receipt was available in 191 patients. The summaries were received in a median of 1.0 day in both those living alone and those living with family; 75% of summaries had been received within two days of discharge and 93% within four days. General practitioners collected the summaries from patients' homes in a high proportion of both groups. Interim discharge summaries should be given to elderly patients for delivery to their GPs: this is both reliable and rapid, and clearly more cost-effective than any other form of delivery.