- 8Nov
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
Excerpts from an article by AbbVie: Millions of patients in the UK live with long-term conditions. Is there a way to empower patients to be more involved in decisions about their care, which ultimately reduces pressure on the NHS? It turns out that the solution could be as simple as improving the accessibility of local…
- 27Sep
BMA Patient Information Awards – Results!
Nicole Naylor, Head of Operations at PIF, was delighted to attend the BMA Patient Information Awards on Tuesday this week and see so many PIF members awarded for the hard work that they do. PIF took part in the awards process as both reviewers and on the judging panel. Nicole presented the Runner Up Special…
- 7Jun
National health charities join information prescribing pilot in Nottinghamshire
An information prescribing pilot project allowing healthcare professionals to send patients direct links to resources from some of the country’s leading health charities gets underway in Nottinghamshire in June. RECAP Health is a digital product resulting from a partnership between Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Health2Works. The Patient Information Forum (PIF) has joined the…
- 5Apr
Vaccines: information is key
This article is from European Patients Forum EPF: In his State of the European Union address on 13 September 2017, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker identified equal access to vaccines as a specific priority. Patients with chronic diseases are often at high-risk of complications from diseases for which vaccines exist. Even though specific vaccination recommendations often…
- 15Mar
Study: Understanding the role of health information in patients’ experiences
Understanding the role of health information in patients’ experiences: secondary analysis of qualitative narrative interviews with people diagnosed with cancer in Germany The objective of this paper in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open was to analyse the role and meaning of health information in individuals’ experiences with either breast, colorectal or prostate cancer in…
- 12Oct
Blog: Improving patient information
In this blog, published in the BMJ, Michael Gill explores how patients have a right to be provided with information, to be given time to ask questions, and to have direct access to their medical records. Michael suggests that in this era of technological innovation, there are many ways in which clinicians can communicate more effectively. For example: Writing instructions…
- 27Jul
Evaluating patient information leaflets given during a consultation
The Health Expectations Journal has published a systematic review of literature reviews aimed at improving the quality of patient information leaflets (PILS), how to use them during consultations and methods for evaluating them. The article draws general and condition-linked conclusions concerning the impact of PILs. Checklists summarize criteria for quality PILs, and ways of using…
- 8Jun
Identifying preferred format and source of exercise information in persons with multiple sclerosis that can be delivered by health-care providers
The aim of this study, published by Wiley Online Library in Health Expectations, was to seek to identify the desired and preferred format and source of exercise information for persons with MS that can be delivered through health-care providers. There is increasing recognition of the benefits of exercise in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), yet…
- 17Mar
Lack of access to information support for neurology patients
The Neurological Alliance have launched a report on their second patient experience survey. Involving over 7,000 neurology patients, analysis of the new survey data shows that patient experience in every area – the time taken to receive a diagnosis, access to specialists, on-going care and support – has significantly deteriorated in the last two years.…
- 10Feb
Better patient information needed on placebo effect
An article published in the BMJ (subscription required) has identified that information provided to participants does not adequately address the role of placebos, and that this lack of knowledge about placebos affects participants’ understanding of trials and breaches the ethical obligations of research. Informed consent requires researchers to provide participants with information about research that…