Final Report > Recommendations > Respect and honesty > Keeping patients informed about treatment and care

Keeping patients informed about treatment and care

4. Information about treatment and care should be given in a variety of forms, be given in stages and be reinforced over time.
5. Information should be tailored to the needs, circumstances and wishes of the individual.
6. Information should be based on the current available evidence and include a summary of the evidence and data, in a form which is comprehensible to patients.
7. Various modes of conveying information, whether leaflets, tapes, videos or CDs, should be regularly updated, and developed and piloted with the help of patients.
8. The NHS Modernisation Agency should make the improvement of the quality of information for patients a priority. In relation to the content and the dissemination of information for patients, the Agency should identify and promote good practice throughout the NHS. It should establish a system for accrediting materials intended to inform patients.
9. The public should receive guidance on those sources of information about health and healthcare on the Internet which are reliable and of good quality: a kitemarking system should be developed.