Medical audit of an assessment clinic for male erectile dysfunction

Sixty male patients with erectile dysfunction were invited with their partners to attend an assessment interview in a psychosexual clinic-93% (56) attended. This high attendance rate may reflect the clinic's screening procedure. Seventy-seven percent (43) were married. However, of the married group, 32.5% (14) attended alone. Although GPs were the main referral source (62.5%), the urology service referred 28.5% (16), pointing to an important local-centre of assessment of erectile difficulties. A full assessment, formulation and advice enabled 40% of the patients to be discharged after the first interview without referral to any other speciality; this proved to be a low-cost service. Combination of a screening procedure with an assessment interview was significantly better than either one on its own in terms of attendance rate, discharge rate after just one interview and cost-efficiency.