Patient Information Leaflets

Patient information leaflets - are the helpful? Or a waste of time? Margaret McCartney is a GP who writes for the BMJ and this week she focuses on the pros and cons of patient information leaflets. Any hospital clinic, GP practice and waiting room in the UK tends to be awash with a range of patient information leaflets. The source of the leaflets is variable - some originate from individual trusts, while others come from charities and external organisations. 

A recent review of practice saw 128 trusts asked to send in the leaflets they gave patients after inguinal hernia repair. The researchers found that information in the leaflets was variable - for example the information on when it would be safe to return to work was variable. So who develops these information leaflets and checks the content? It seems that there isn't a single rigorous process for developing them and that practice is variable, meaning that information given to the public may be of poor quality. Patient information leaflets are used for giving patients information which cannot all be given in a short appointment. They also give the patient something to read when they get home in case they forget what has been discussed, and most leaflets offer contact information should the patient have further questions. Patient information leaflets also help to reduce litigation. One private company has been set up which provides patient information leaflets, 'Eido', set up by a surgical registrar in England. Hospital trusts can pay in excess of £6000 a year for the right to distribute these leaflets. Some trusts, such as Guy's and St Thomas' in London have a bank of their own leaflets, developed 'in house'. 

Concerns about inconsistent and inaccurate information in these leaflets is not new but progress in the area has been slow. There have been calls for a national strategy to tackle the problem: a single source of peer-reviewed, accurate information leaflets for the NHS which reduce problems with inconsistency and provide standardisation. In a company as large as the NHS, this may be very challenging, but I would like to see NHS Scotland take on that challenge to reduce replication and improve patient communication. A link to the article can be found here.