Thu, 18 May 2006
Health professionals desperate for health information for their patients
New research issued today (18 May 2006) by DPP: Developing Patient Partnerships finds that health professionals working in primary care believe there is a greater need for health information for their patients than ever before and that GP practices should be the ones to provide this information.Eighty per cent of health professionals and managers (GPs, practice nurses, and practice managers) believe it is inevitable that the Quality and Outcomes Framework, Practice Based Commissioning and new NICE guidelines will result in a greater need to provide information to patients about managing their health with the majority (65%) believing that practices should be the ones to provide it (55% GPs, 82% practice nurses, 59% practice managers).
However, nearly half (49%) of health professionals feel that access to reliable and unbiased information for patients is limited and so nearly all GPs (98%), practice nurses (90%) and most practice managers (79%) would welcome a single source of high quality information.
Currently most patient information is accessed either through healthcare websites (77%) and GP clinical systems (74%). Patient information accessed from pharmaceutical companies is the least popular route (36%).
In response to this need for better health information, DPP is offering new and improved health information resources to GP practices, PCTs, pharmacies and workplaces. DPP’s new service means that GP practices and PCTs can pick and choose the information they need to fulfil local health information needs from a comprehensive range of resources.
Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of the BMA's GPs Committee said:
"Everyone working in general practice is aware that patients can benefit from having access to good quality, reliable and unbiased information. Patients see their GP practice as an obvious place to go for advice because they trust their family doctor and the nurses and staff who form the practice team."
Julia Murphy, Practice Nurse in Nottingham said:
"This survey confirms the positive response we get from patients when we talk to them about their health. Practice nurses have always played a big part in helping people to manage their health.
Having access to information which you can be confident comes from a reliable source which offers the right messages for patients is really important. I always have DPP’s cold and flu and antibiotics information at my side as do many other practice nurses I know."
Dr David Wrigley, DPP Chairman said:
"These results expose the real gap in patients’ health information needs and the availability of independent, consistent quality information.
The findings show that both GPs and practice nurses work hard to ensure that their patients have the information they need but this information is inconsistent. They each get their information from very different sources (GPs get most of their information from clinical systems (94%) and websites (81%) and practice nurses from websites (73%) and pharmaceutical companies (57%)).
Practices need to be assured that the information they give to their patients offers consistent messages that people will understand and respond to. It also needs to be produced in a format and to a level of quality which is engaging for users. DPP aims to support practices with a comprehensive library of resources which do just this."
Notes to editors
- ICM interviewed a random sample of 100 GPs, 102 Practice nurses and 118 Practice Managers aged 18+ by telephone across the country between 2nd and 5th May 2006.
- ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further information can be found at www.icmresearch.co.uk
- DPP: Developing Patient Partnerships (formerly Doctor Patient Partnership) is a health education charity working with primary care organisations and the public to make the most of health services and help people manage their health by improving health knowledge and communication.www.dpp.org.uk