Patient information is often misleading

Editor—Sharing decisions with patients so that they may become partners¹ implies sufficient and appropriate information—that is, detailed discussion about the condition, the treatment options, and the likely outcomes with or without treatment. Assessing people’s information needs is the first and most important step but is difficult because patients’ desires are underestimated, consultation times are short, and clinicians often lack knowledge about treatment options and outcomes. Many other factors should be taken into account, such as the patient’s degree of comprehension and capacity for judgment and the clinician’s way of communicating.

I have found that patients’ information on health care is often misleading and from sources such as tabloid newspapers, television, and their kith and kin. Much of the information currently available to patients is inaccurate or misleading. These low quality sources cover common and uncommon clinical problems and are hard to oppose. Other problems such as drugs rationing and bureaucracy trouble the clinician-patient relationship. They are all obstacles to providing correct information to patients. Without honest, unbiased, up to date information about their illness, patients cannot express informed choices.