Psychiatrist's letter to the treating physician: content and template
The psychiatrist's letter to the treating physician: its role in coordination, the framework of shared medical confidentiality, and what it must contain. Template to download.
Countries covered : France
The letter to the treating physician is one of the pillars of mental health care coordination. Well-structured, it prevents diagnostic delays, iatrogenic risks, and redundant examinations.
This page details its framework, its content, and offers a template to download.
The framework: shared, but regulated, medical confidentiality
What is the purpose of the letter?
- Coordinate care between the psychiatrist and the treating physician.
- Secure follow-up: avoid drug interactions, duplicate examinations, and gaps in care.
- Track the intervention and therapeutic decisions.
What the letter must contain
- Header and identification. Your contact details, the recipient, the patient's identity, the date.
- Reason and context for referral. Why you are writing, context of the care.
- Clinical summary. Elements useful for understanding, without verbatim quotes or unnecessary details.
- Diagnosis (or hypotheses), formulated with the expected rigour.
- Treatment initiated. Medicines, dosages, points requiring attention, possible interactions.
- Proposed follow-up. Modalities, next step, what is expected of the treating physician.
The letter remains concise and factual: it selects what serves coordination.
Template letter to the treating physician to download
Correspondence letter using the structure above, ready to fill out. Access the PDF by entering your email:
Save time on writing
Reviewing clinical notes to create a synthesis readable by the treating physician takes time. Start with a fixed template, standardise your synthesis and action plan formulations, and dictate your letter right after the consultation.
This is what Delta does: live note-taking or post-consultation dictation, and the tool generates the clinical notes and correspondence letter according to your template, with a longitudinal patient memory from one consultation to the next. HDS hosting, GDPR compliant, respecting medical confidentiality.
Frequently asked questions
Can the psychiatrist write to the treating physician without the patient's consent?
The exchange between professionals participating in care is regulated by Article L1110-4 of the French Public Health Code: it covers information strictly necessary for the coordination of care, and the patient is informed of it.
What should the letter contain?
The reason and context for referral, a clinical summary, the diagnosis or hypotheses, the treatment initiated, and the proposed follow-up.
Should everything be transmitted to the treating physician?
No. Only information useful for coordination is transmitted; the letter remains concise and factual.
What is the purpose of this letter?
To coordinate care, secure follow-up (interactions, duplicates), and track therapeutic decisions.
When should it be sent?
At the beginning of care, during a significant change (diagnosis, treatment), and at the request of the treating physician.
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Delta generates your clinical notes and letters from your live note-taking or dictation, while respecting medical confidentiality.
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