Do GPs record the occupation of their patients?

BACKGROUND: General practitioners (GPs) have a central role in providing advice about fitness for work, yet there are concerns about their understanding of the relationship between work and health. AIMS: To assess whether GPs in one Cornish practice record the occupation of patients of working age and to quantify how important GPs in Cornwall consider recording of occupation in working-age patients. METHODS: An audit of the notes of 300 working-age patients in one practice, a search of the computer records at a different practice and a questionnaire survey of 202 GPs in practices in Cornwall. RESULTS: Occupation was recorded in 50 (17%) of the 300 patient notes audited. The questionnaire response rate was 31%. Few (8%) respondents reported training in occupational medicine. Most (65%) of GPs recorded their patients' occupation some of the time. A third (32%) of GPs did not consider it important to record patients' occupations. CONCLUSIONS: GPs in two Cornish practices recorded the occupation of working-age patients infrequently, but over two-thirds of GPs in Cornwall believe it is important to do so. If these results reflect the practice of UK GPs, the new 'e-fit note' may be of limited value in monitoring and analysing sickness absence.