UK physicians may be asked to share consultation letters with patients

Physicians in the United Kingdom may soon be asked to share all referral letters and consultation results with patients, regardless of the information they contain.

Harry Cayton, director of patient experience and public involvement at the Department of Health, says referral letters and consultants' responses are symbols of doctors' power, since they are about patients but not for them. He says the new relationship between health professionals and patients requires openness and joint decision-making, and sending these letters to patients is a step on the road to rebalancing this relationship.

Proponents say that patients may not be able to digest everything being said to them in the doctor's office, and reading a letter at home will allow for better decision-making.

The General Medical Council says it welcomes improved communication with patients, but “care must be taken to ensure that the information letters contain is clear and does not cause unnecessary worry or distress.”

However, the Royal College of General Practitioners is skeptical. “Routine copying of all letters by one health care professional to another provides no opportunity for individuals to seek clarification or further information,” it says. “This will undermine the usefulness of the traditional referral letter between a GP and a specialist colleague.” Also, “a referral will often be made when a serious diagnosis is a possibility. Many GPs will not wish to burden their patients with the full extent of diagnostic possibilities at such an early stage and will resort to covert language. This will diminish the quality of the communication.”

Twelve pilot projects are being used to test the new initiatives. Patients have responded positively, with a recent survey indicating that 98% favoured receiving the letters. — Mary Helen Spooner, West Sussex, UK