Improving Knowledge Transfer by Using a Summative Patient Handout for Cystoscopy.

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Patient Communication
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Cystoscopy is a common urological procedure with limited data on patient comprehension of outcomes.
• A quality assessment identified low patient understanding in the current care model.
• A formal written communication tool was developed to address this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess patient comprehension of outpatient cystoscopy outcomes.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a summative patient handout in improving physician-patient communication.
• To determine if the handout enhances understanding of results and follow-up plans.

Main Methods:

• A pre- and post-intervention study design was used.
• Consecutive patients undergoing cystoscopy at a Canadian tertiary care center were surveyed.
• A summative patient handout was implemented to facilitate communication of results and follow-up plans.

Main Results:

• The proportion of patients feeling their results were discussed improved from 87% to 94% (p=0.02).
• Concordance between patient and urologist reported cystoscopy results increased from 56% to 75% (p <0.001).
• Patient identification of their post-cystoscopy follow-up plan improved from 51% to 80% (p <0.001).

Conclusions:

• Implementation of a summative patient handout significantly improved patient understanding of cystoscopy results.
• The handout enhanced patient comprehension of post-procedure follow-up plans.
• This communication tool is effective in improving patient outcomes after cystoscopy.