New health literacy resource helps patients plan for GP visit
For many New Zealanders, GP and pharmacy visits are their most frequent interaction with health services, but are they
getting as much out of them as they could?
Let’s PLAN for better care, launched as part of the inaugural Patient Safety Week, 3 to 9 November, is a Health Quality & Safety Commission initiative to help patients prepare for doctor appointments and find out more about their medicine at
pharmacies.
The A4 flyer, with an accompanying promotional poster, encourages people to plan ahead for practice visits and to ask
questions when there so they fully understand their diagnosis and treatment. It also suggests questions they can ask
pharmacy staff.
PLAN stands for: ‘P = Prepare for your visit; L = Listen and share; A = Ask questions; N = Note down what you need to do
next.’ The back of the flyer has space for patients’ questions and notes.
GPs like patients to be well prepared for their visit to the doctor, says Tony Dowell, a Wellington GP and Professor of
General Practice at the University of Otago, Wellington.
‘We want patients to be able to tell their story well because it helps in the diagnosis. And we do like patients
clarifying things. We want them to be safe. If they go away with misunderstandings about what has been discussed, that
can be potentially dangerous.
‘GPs already encourage patients to ask questions and help them to make their voice heard. But we can always enhance
that, and having a structured way to do it, such as Let’s PLAN, is a great boost.’
Let’s PLAN has been tested with groups of different ethnicities, and piloted in medical practices and pharmacies in
Hawke’s Bay and Auckland. It is available free of charge to GPs and pharmacies, and copies can also be downloaded from
the Commission’s website.
‘Our consumer network started the ball rolling with Let’s PLAN and has been involved as we have developed it,’ says Dr
Chris Walsh, the Commission’s Director of Partners in Care. ‘When visiting your doctor, it is easy to forget or not
mention health information that can sometimes be really important. Let’s PLAN will help patients gather their thoughts
before their visit, making it more efficient for both them and their health providers.’
ends