The Usefulness of Patients Receiving Their Own Letter After an Outpatient Attendance
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
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.
Study Overview
Status
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
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.
Study Type
Enrollment (Actual)
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
Study Locations
-
-
-
London, United Kingdom, W6 8RF
- NHLI Imperial College
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-
Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Genders Eligible for Study
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- All patients attending respiratory/cardiology outpatient clinics
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients with reading/language difficulties
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
- Allocation: N/A
- Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
- Masking: None (Open Label)
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
|
Other: Patient attending hospital clinic
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
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Comprehensibility of the two styles of letter
Time Frame: Baseline
|
(length, reading ease, Flesch Kincaid Grade, items misunderstood)
|
Baseline
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Patient preferences for the letters
Time Frame: baseline
|
Patients indicated a preference for either the GP and patient letter or both
|
baseline
|
|
Deficiencies in the patient letter
Time Frame: baseline
|
Deficiencies highlighted by the GP on the patient letter
|
baseline
|
Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Martyn R Partridge, MD FRCP, Imperial College London
Publications and helpful links
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Actual)
Primary Completion (Actual)
Study Completion (Actual)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Estimate)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Keywords
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- NHLICX3762
Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)
Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
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