Workflow: Drafting a Follow-Up Clinic Letter with AI

Follow-up clinic letters are some of the most time-consuming routine writing tasks in outpatient endocrinology. This workflow shows you how to use AI to move from brief post-consultation notes to a structured draft letter in minutes.

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Step 1: Write Your Raw Notes Immediately After the Consultation

The workflow works best when your source material is fresh. Immediately after seeing the patient, jot down the key points you want the letter to convey. These do not need to be polished prose. Bullet points are fine. For example:

• 52-year-old with type 2 diabetes, seen for 6-month review
• HbA1c improved from 68 to 58 mmol/mol
• Lost 4kg since last visit — well done
• Discussion about continuing current approach vs escalating
• Plan: continue current management, repeat bloods in 3 months, refer for structured education programme
• No new concerns

You will replace any real patient identifiers with placeholders before pasting this into an AI tool.

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Step 2: Anonymise Your Notes

Go through your bullet points and remove or replace any identifying detail. Replace the patient's name with a descriptor. Remove hospital number, date of birth, and GP details. You will add these back in your clinical system at the end.

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Step 3: Decide the Letter Format

Think about who the letter is going to and what it needs to accomplish. A letter to a GP after a routine review has a different structure and level of detail than a letter to a patient or a letter to another specialist. Decide before you write your AI prompt.

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Step 4: Write Your AI Prompt

Open your AI tool and write a clear instruction. For example:

"Draft a follow-up clinic letter from an endocrinologist to a GP. The patient is a 52-year-old with type 2 diabetes seen for a 6-month routine review. Key points to include: [paste your anonymised bullet points here]. Professional, concise tone. Structured with a brief summary, management plan, and next steps. Around 250 words. Do not include specific drug doses."

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Step 5: Read the Draft

Read the output carefully. A good AI draft will organise your bullet points into flowing paragraphs with appropriate clinical language. Check that:

• The management plan is accurately represented
• The tone matches your clinical style
• Nothing has been added that was not in your notes
• The letter makes sense to a GP who does not know this patient's full history

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Step 6: Refine if Needed

Type a follow-up instruction if any section needs adjustment. For example:

"The management plan section is a bit long. Can you trim it to three short sentences?"

Or:

"Add a line asking the GP to ensure the patient is enrolled in the structured education programme if not already."

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Step 7: Copy Into Your Clinical Correspondence System

Copy the draft into your usual system — your clinical workstation, dictation platform, or word processor. This is where the letter becomes an official clinical document.

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Step 8: Add Patient Identifiers and Sign Off

Add the patient's name, date of birth, hospital number, the correct date, your name, your GMC number if required, and any other standard details your trust or clinic requires. Add the standard signature block.

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Step 9: Proofread the Full Letter

Read the complete letter one final time. You are checking for accuracy, completeness, and that no placeholder text (like "") has been left in.

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Step 10: Send Through Your Clinical System

Send the letter through your usual clinical channel. This might be electronic discharge letters, your clinical correspondence platform, or direct to the GP practice system. The AI draft is now a reviewed, personalised clinical letter — not an AI output.

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Remember: AI is a helpful assistant, not a clinician. You make the call.