TITLE:
Roadmap of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Clinic in a Tertiary Center: A Prospective Cohort Study of 1178 Patients
AUTHORS:
Ameen Z. Alherabi
KEYWORDS:
ENT, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck, Clinic
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery,
Vol.5 No.1,
January
15,
2016
ABSTRACT: Objectives: An Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery clinic is an integral part of any modern tertiary center outpatient department. The objective of this article is to present our experience in developing a local electronic Makkah Otolaryngology—Head and Neck DATABASE (MO-HND) and provide a roadmap for the development of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery clinics in other tertiary centers. Methods: This is a prospective audit of all patients attending our clinic over 3 months period (July to September 2014). The data were recorded using our MO-HND. Results: A total of 1178 patients were included. The mean age was 27.7 ± 6.7 years. Participants included 586 males (49.7%) and 592 females (50.3%). There were 1139 (96.6%) Saudi and 39 (3.4%) non-Saudi patients. The specialist clinic undertook most of the workload (66%). The majority of surgery bookings (94%) were carried out through a consultant clinic. Of all participants, 80% were diagnosed with general ENT conditions, 21% underwent a procedure in the clinic, and 29% required further investigations. The surgical conversion rate was 16.3%. Conclusion: Electronic DATABASES have become important tools for improving medical services. Primary and secondary level medical centers and hospitals should increase their role in alleviating pressure from tertiary and quaternary level hospitals. In turn, a model concentrated on subspecialty clinics and services should be developed.