The physician's role in educating patients. A comparison of mailed versus physician-delivered patient education

BACKGROUND: Patients value receiving educational information during office visits, but physicians often lack the time or training to satisfy this need. We examined whether an increased physician role in educating patients is an effective means of improving patient satisfaction. METHODS: Using a nonrandomized controlled research design, we compared patient satisfaction with self-care information provided by traditional direct-mail approaches and by physicians during routine office visits. We also studied a control group of patients receiving usual care. RESULTS: Patients who received a medical self-care book from a physician were significantly more likely to be satisfied with their office visit than those who received the book in the mail or those who experienced usual care. The intervention group reported greater satisfaction with 11 out of 13 variables related to physician-patient communication and quality of care. There were no significant differences between the control group and the direct-mail group. CONCLUSIONS: The patients who received self-care information from their physicians were significantly more satisfied with their care and their physician-patient communication experience than those in either the direct-mail group or the control group. Our findings lend support to the growing evidence that patients informed by their physicians are more satisfied with their care.