Paediatricians' reports to general practitioners: should parents receive copies?

The aim of this study was to determine whether it was helpful for parents to receive a copy of the letter written by the paediatrician to the general practitioner (GP) when a child was referred to a paediatric outpatient department for the first time or with a new problem. A randomly allocated sample of 40 intervention patients and 49 comparison patients was seen 2-4 weeks following the consultation in a semi-structured home interview conducted by a researcher who did not know the group allocation. Although significant differences in parent knowledge were not detected, parent satisfaction with the consultation was improved. No parent reported being upset or worried by the contents of the letter, and none of the paediatricians required extra time to explain aspects of the letter in an additional consultation, although the possibility of this was offered. There seem to be advantages in sending a letter copy to parents of children presenting with a wide range of conditions.