[Patients' diary--a useful communication tool for both patients and health personnel]

Elderly people living at home and suffering from one or more chronic diseases often receive help from different sectors of the public health service. Good communication between these different health workers is often lacking. To improve this situation we are now using a supplementary journal which is kept in the patient's own possession and brought with him or her to hospital and consultations. We have tried out this method for two years, have found it very useful, and shall continue to use it permanently. We hope this article will serve to acquaint doctors with this journal. We also discuss our experiences after having started to use the journal.