Individualizing patient education for greater patient satisfaction

The benefits of educational intervention on health outcomes has been widely discussed, but the most educational methods have not been addressed. We sought to assess preferred modes of education during an outpatient dermatology visit (ie, verbal instruction [VI], written instruction [WI], demonstration [DM], Internet resources [IR]). We secondarily looked at patient satisfaction with the educational methods used. The results indicate the most preferred method of education among 157 patients who completed a 12-question survey and areas where physicians may need to improve patient education.