The Usefulness of Patients Receiving Their Own Letter After an Outpatient Attendance

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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As part of the NHS plan it has been proposed to extend some consultants' usual practices and to send all patients copies of the letters sent to their general practitioners (GPs) following outpatient consultations. The current Secretary of State for Health has further extended this proposal and suggested that patients should have a specific letter to themselves after a hospital consultation. The aim of this study is to send patients both a copy of the letter sent to their GPs and a specific letter to themselves and to assess the usefulness and comprehensibility of each.

Detailed Description
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As part of the NHS plan it has been proposed to extend some consultants' usual practices and to send all patients copies of the letters sent to their general practitioners following outpatient consultations. The current Secretary of State for Health has further extended this proposal and suggested that patients should have a specific letter to themselves after a hospital consultation. The aim of this study is to send patients both a copy of the letter sent to their GPs and a specific letter to themselves and to assess the usefulness and comprehensibility of each. This study will assess the two styles of letter in Cardiology and Respiratory Outpatient Clinics staffed by 7 consultants and will involve a group of 15-20 patients from each of the clinics, total number approximately 150 patients. All patients attending the clinics will be given a sheet outlining the study before their consultations. If they are interested in the study, patients will be given a Patient Information Sheet and asked consent to take part. The length of each of the two dictated letters will be recorded. To avoid costs to the NHS, the direct to patient letters will be typed at the study investigators' cost. Two copies of each letter, a short explanatory letter and a questionnaire will be sent to the patient and the patient will be asked to circle points in each of the letters which are unclear and return them to the department. At the end of the study the general practitioners will be contacted and asked their views about the two letters.

Official Title
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A Study to Determine the Usefulness of Patients Receiving Their Own Letter After an Outpatient Attendance Compared to Receiving a Copy of the Letter Being Sent to Their General Practitioner

Conditions
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Heart Diseases, Lung Diseases

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: Additional specific letter written to patient


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All patients attending respiratory/cardiology outpatient clinics Exclusion Criteria: Patients with reading/language difficulties

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 90 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Other: Patient attending hospital clinic<br>patients were sent a letter especially dictated for them and a copy of the letter written by the hospital consultant to their GP to review | Procedure: Additional specific letter written to patient<br> <br> |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Comprehensibility of the two styles of letter | (length, reading ease, Flesch Kincaid Grade, items misunderstood) | Baseline | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Patient preferences for the letters | Patients indicated a preference for either the GP and patient letter or both | baseline | 
| Deficiencies in the patient letter | Deficiencies highlighted by the GP on the patient letter | baseline | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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post consultation letter