Objective: To investigate the frequency of diagnoses seen among new referrals to neurology outpatient services; to understand how these services are used through exploratory analysis of diagnostic tests and follow-up appointments; and to examine the waiting times between referral and appointment. Methods: Routine data from new NHS appointments at a single consultant-delivered clinic between Sept 2016 and January 2019 were collected. These clinical data were then linked to hospital administrative data. The combined data were assigned diagnostic categories based on working diagnoses to allow further analysis using descriptive statistics. Results: Five diagnostic categories accounted for 62% of all patients seen within the study period, the most common of which was headache disorders. Following a first appointment, 50% of all patients were offered at least one diagnostic test, and 35% were offered a follow-up appointment, with variation in both measures by diagnostic category. Waiting times from referral to appointment also varied by diagnostic category. 65% of patients with a seizure/epilepsy disorder were seen within the 18 week referral to treatment target, compared to 38% of patients with a movement disorder. Conclusions: A small number of diagnostic categories account for a large proportion of new patients. This information could be used in policy decision making to describe a minimum subset of categories for diagnostic coding. We found significant differences in waiting times by diagnostic category, as well as tests ordered, and follow-up offered; further investigation could address causes of variation. Key words: Observational Study, Routinely Collected Data, Neurology, Outpatient, Waiting times

中文翻译：

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诊断类别的轮候时间变化：1951年转诊至神经内科门诊的观察性研究。

目的：调查在神经内科门诊服务的新转诊中发现的诊断频率；通过对诊断测试和后续约会的探索性分析来了解如何使用这些服务；并检查转诊和预约之间的等待时间。方法：收集了2016年9月至2019年1月在一家由顾问提供的诊所中新任命的NHS的常规数据。然后将这些临床数据链接到医院管理数据。根据工作诊断为组合数据分配诊断类别，以允许使用描述性统计数据进行进一步分析。结果：五种诊断类别占研究期间所有患者的62％，其中最常见的是头痛疾病。第一次约会后，为所有患者中的50％提供了至少一项诊断测试，为35％提供了随访预约，两种方法均因诊断类别而异。从转诊到预约的等待时间也因诊断类别而异。在转诊至治疗目标的18周内，发现有65％的癫痫/癫痫病患者，而有38％的运动障碍患者。结论：少数诊断类别占新患者的很大比例。此信息可用于策略决策中，以描述用于诊断编码的类别的最小子集。我们发现，根据诊断类别，订购的测试和提供的随访，等待时间存在显着差异。进一步的调查可以解决变化的原因。关键词：观察研究