Physician and Patient Perceptions of Patient-Accessible Consultation Letters
Summary
The purpose of this study is to understand how both physicians and patients feel about having doctors' letters available directly to their patients. We are keen to find patients who would be willing to review some sample doctor letters that will be emailed to them to give feedback to the research team about how useful the letters are to them, and whether any of the words used in the letters cause confusion, or could cause upset to the reader.
We are also seeking physicians who are members of the Department of Medicine or the Department of Clinical Neurosciences to participate in a survey about their perceptions about patient-accessible letters.
Physicians who agree to participate will also be invited to participate in an optional 30 minute phone interview to explore their ideas in greater detail. Patients who agree to participate will be asked to review the sample doctor letters with a member of the research team via telephone and then participate in a maximum 20 minute phone interview to explore their ideas in greater detail.
Eligibility
Eligible gender: Male, Female, Transgender, Other
Eligible ages: 18 to 105
Accepts healthy participants: Yes
Inclusion criteria:
Any member of the public who has had occasion to see a specialist physician in Alberta may volunteer as a patient representative. The only eligibility requirement is a willingness to participate and the ability to read and write comfortably in English.
OR
A specialist in Internal Medicine in Alberta or one of its subspecialties OR in neurology, neurosurgery, or physical medicine and rehabilitation in Alberta.
Exclusion criteria:
1. Those who have not had a doctor's appointment with a specialist in Alberta.
2. Those who cannot comfortably read and comment on a doctor's letter in English.
OR
1. Those who are not a specialist in Internal Medicine in Alberta or one of its subspecialties OR in neurology, neurosurgery, or physical medicine and rehabilitation in Alberta.
Participate
Fill out the following form if you want to participate in this research
Collection of personal information
Your personal information is collected under
the authority of section 33(c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. If
you have any questions about the collection or use of this information, please visit our
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Additional information
Contact information
Research Coordinator Caitlin Foster
Principal investigator:
Lara Cooke
Clinical trial:
No
REB-ID:
REB19-1185