Copying letters to patients--will it happen?

Abstract

The requirement for clinicians from all fields to offer patients copies of letters written about them to other health professionals was stated in the NHS Plan 1 and has been the subject of a series of pilot studies and a set of guidelines. 2 However, in the light of the fact that it has not been explicitly included in the detail of the new GP contract, 3 it is worth exploring whether as ‘good practice’ there is a strong case for copying letters to patients, given that it is not a contractual requirement for GPs. The context of the development of other national initiatives around patient involvement and IT may also lead to the requirement for copying letters being overtaken by