Shared care? Some effects of patient access to medical communications

This paper describes the introduction of a model of community mental health services in out-patient settings within which a key feature is a letter-sharing scheme. Copies of letters from psychiatrists to GPs are routinely sent to both patients and CMHT keyworkers. It is hoped that such a practice may empower patients and potentially improve clinical outcome. In a preliminary attempt to identify a range of benefits and problems relating to the practice a qualitative study was undertaken which involved interviews with all relevant stakeholders: psychiatrists, GPs, keyworkers and patients. The data raise a variety of problems which require further quantitative investigation but also point to a number of predicted benefits which may be of use to others considering the introduction of similar schemes.