Inpatient diabetes: do-it-yourself electronic referral system to support and enhance the Think Glucose project

The national Think Glucose project utilises a ‘traffic light’ system to guide which patients should be referred to the inpatient diabetes specialist team (IPDST). Previously, referral to the IPDST required phone, fax or internal post, with their built‐in delays and patients being missed. We used our hospital trust's investigation‐ordering system to develop an electronic ‘Think Glucose Assessment’ form. The quick and easy form incorporates simple tick boxes to select which ‘traffic light’ points apply to the patient concerned. Once submitted, the form appears instantly in a generic NHS email account accessible by the IPDST. This facilitates daily IPDST ward round lists. Over the year following implementation the number of patients seen by the IPDST increased from 83 per month to 452 per month, while at the same time ensuring those seen complied with the national ‘traffic light’ criteria. All hospitals with electronic investigation‐ordering systems could easily emulate our system.