Can patients benefit from reading copies of their doctors' letters about them?

Abstract

Britain's Data Protection Act has raised the question of patients'\naccess to their medical records. In the authors' study, patients at a\nrheumatology clinic received either a copy of the consultant's letter to their\ngeneral practitioner or a post-consultation discussion with a staff member. \nBoth patient groups were asked to rate the two approaches. A group of general\npractitioners and additional patients were asked to rank these approaches as\nwell as the alternative of receiving a clinic letter in "everyday" language\nfollowed by a discussion with the physician. This last option was least\npreferred by patients; opinions on the other options were divided. Only 13%\nof the physicians approved of the clinic letter, and over half thought the\nconsultant's letter was the worst option. The authors conclude that patients\nbenefit from consultants' letters and recommend that patients be allowed more\naccess to medical notes. (KIE abstract)