ARE WE TELLING PATIENTS ENOUGH - A PILOT-STUDY TO ASSESS PATIENT INFORMATION NEEDS IN A GASTROENTEROLOGY OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT

Objective To define whether gastroenterology patients wish to receive more information concerning many aspects of their illness and to elici t their attitude after receiving written communication from their hosp ital practitioner. Methods In stage 1, 73 gastroenterology patients we re interviewed and completed a structured questionnaire after their ho spital outpatient visit, to assess whether they would like to receive more information about their condition. Stage 2 involved posting a cop y of the general practitioner's letter, dictated in the clinic, to the patient and assessing their opinion of its value, by using a second q uestionnaire. In stage 3 a group of outpatients received a letter spec ifically prepared for them which summarized the outcome of their clini c visit (with avoidance of medical terms) and they again completed a q uestionnaire.Results More than 75% of patients wished to receive writt en communication from their hospital practitioner. Ninety percent want ed to know more about diagnostic tests and 92% requested more informat ion about their medication. Ninety percent of patients who received a copy of their GP's letter claimed to understand its contents and felt it was beneficial. Ninety four percent wanted the service to continue. However, there was no advantage in preparing a special letter for pat ients compared with a simple copy of that sent to their GP. Conclusion There is considerable interest amongst gastroenterology patients conc erning their diagnosis and the management of their disease. The provis ion of simplified letters about their outpatient management does not s eem to have any advantage over simply providing copies of all relevant correspondence sent to GPs.