Writing letters to patients attending psychiatry clinics

Since around 2000, there has been a shift in UK medical and surgical culture and guidelines towards including patients in written correspondence about their care.1 UK guidelines and standards234 state that all clinical letters between physicians should be copied to the patient they concern, apart from exceptional circumstances such as the potential for patient harm or third party data breach.23 More recently, there has been a movement towards writing to patients directly5 and copying in the relevant physician, for example their GP. The aim is to avoid the detachment and patronage of third person letters sent to patients.567 Writing to patients can raise concerns regarding patient’s anxiety and understanding of letters, although evidence suggests that such views are largely unfounded.78 Evidence indicates that patients value receiving their letters and find them useful.91011 Furthermore, GPs find letters written to patients are more comprehensible and patient centred51213 and that the time spent…
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