The organization and distribution of patient education materials in familymedicine practices

BACKGROUND Millions of dollars are spent annually oil the production and di stribution of patient education materials; however there are no studies des cribing their actual use by physicians. Using qualitative data from a large comparative: case study, our analysis evaluates hen; patient education mat erials are organized and used in family practices, METHODS Eighteen purposefully selected family medicine practices were direc tly observed fur 4 to 12 weeks each. A total of 57 providers were shadowed by a research nurse, and detailed field notes on 1600 patient encounters we re recorded. A 3-member analysis team reviewed the qualitative data and ide ntified emergent patterns. RESULTS Clinics' use of patient education materials fell mostly into 2 dist inct patterns, "Stockpilers" were providers who relied on the clinic staff to develop and organize a common library of patient education handouts. Pro viders with a "personal stash" collected much smaller numbers of material t hat they personally maintained. Providers in the latter group had a known r epertoire of a limited amount of educational material and used it more ofte n than providers with access to a greater variety and number of handouts. I n all practices, providers distributed most handouts; staff and self-select ion by patients played a minor role. CONCLUSIONS Tt appears that provider involvement and familiarity with patie nt education materials are key to their use in clinical practice. Clinician s use written patient education materials most efficiently by personally se lecting and maintaining a small number of handouts that address topics most relevant tu their practice.