Format/length:
HES item:
National Codes:
Default Codes:

Notes:
Do not count the following attendances or contacts as part of a CONSULTANT OUT-PATIENT EPISODES:

• nurse clinic appointment/attendance;
• face to face contacts with other health professionals;
• contact with community nurses;

If the treatment changes but the consultant stays the same, record it as the same out-patient episode; if the consultant changes but the treatment stays the same, record it as a new out-patient episode.

An out-patient episode would not necessarily terminate because a PATIENT was admitted into hospital or placed on an ELECTIVE ADMISSION LIST; if further appointments in respect of the same referral with the consultant are intended or expected, these would all be included in the same out-patient episode, with attendances after the end of a HOSPITAL PROVIDER SPELL counting as follow-up attendances.

Note that a PATIENT can have a concurrent CONSULTANT OUT-PATIENT EPISODES and HOSPITAL PROVIDER SPELL. For example, a PATIENT in a long-stay WARD under the care of a psychiatrist might also be attending a general surgeon. 

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	CONSULTANT OUT-PATIENT EPISODES