Patients' memory for medical information

Abstract

When important decisions are to be made, the patient must receive detailed information on the illness, treatment options and prognosis. The shortening of hospital stays and the trend towards outpatient care enhance the need of patients and their families for specific information.1 Practitioners are responding to these demands, yet the amount of information correctly recalled by patients is strikingly small.2 In this review I examine empirical evidence concerning the obstacles to memory for medical information and offer some suggestions for overcoming them. Clearly, memory for medical information is a prerequisite for good adherence to recommended treat-ment. Ley’s3 model on effective communication in medical practice (see Figure 1) stresses the importance of memory