How do hospitals help patients prepare for and participate in outpatient clinics?

Background: Patients attending general medicine outpatient clinics (GM OPC) at hospital face multiple healthcare demands in an environment that has evolved with the clinician at its centre. The ideas, knowledge and understanding that patients bring to their clinic appointments are not well studied in the New Zealand setting.

Aims: To assess how hospitals prepare patients for their outpatient appointments and encourage people to participate actively in their own care.

Methods: A prospective survey of 50 patients attending follow-up GM OPC was performed. Participants' understanding of the purpose of their appointment and knowledge of their prescription medications was explored using a nine-item questionnaire. Patient-directed hospital communication was then analysed to assess the information supplied to patients.

Results: Two-thirds (66%) of participants attending follow-up GM OPC recalled being informed of an appointment at the time of leaving hospital; only half (54%) felt they had been informed of the purpose of these appointments. Patient-directed communication was not completed in half (50%) of the analysed discharge letters. One-third (36%) of participants did not have specific questions for their clinic visits.

Conclusions: Limited information and support is provided to patients attending follow-up GM OPC and is not tailored to individuals' health literacy. This practice assumes patients have comparable health literacy to clinicians, which may have downstream impacts on the usefulness of the clinic experience. The information that health users bring to clinic may be improved by increasing pre-clinic user engagement and deploying patient-centred tools within the healthcare environment.