The aim of this prospective observational study was to estimate the proport
ion of otolaryngology patients with poor reading skills, as a guide to info
rmation provision. The subjects were a consecutive series of 50 adult outpa
tients attending a general otolaryngology clinic at the Victoria Infirmary,
Glasgow, and whose first language was English. Reading skills were estimat
ed using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine. For comparison,
the SMOG readability formula was used to estimate the reading skills requir
ed to understand the Department's 35 information leaflets, the standard ele
ctive admission notification letter and the surgical consent form. Fourteen
(28 per cent) patients were found to have poor reading skills (8th grade o
r less). The surgical consent form required 11th grade reading ability, as
did the standard admission letter, and the leaflets required 9th to 15th gr
ade (graduate) reading ability (median 11th grade). Many patients could be
expected to have difficulty understanding these written materials. Informat
ion must be written in plain English to be suitable for a wide range of pat
ients, including those with poor reading skills.