Prognosis Affects Memory of First Cancer Consultation - Patients with worse prognosis had less recall of information discussed in visit

I think anyone receiving a cancer diagnosis would feel the same, as we are humans and have emotions. Written materials and links to web sites are necessary so patients can learn more too as there is not enough time in the visit to cover everything.

Next issue, where do you go on the web to get the information if not provided? This is a very good question and a consumer needs help with the confusion of everything available. One option is to set up a personal health record, why? Inside the site are links to easily find the information you are looking for. This could prove to be a big timesaver and offer one single location to begin instead of looking through the entire internet. I would believe also that it would be in the interest of the physicians to promote this type of a PHR, as 2 birds with one stone can be taken care of, and it will allow the physician an avenue to share and receive health care records too, so why not, unless you want to work twice as hard to find the information you need with general searches. BD

In this study, more than half of the provided information was forgotten. Older patients were particularly vulnerable to information overload. However, our results also clearly suggest that 'the frail are not always the elderly,' as a poorer prognosis seems to reduce recall of information independent of age," the authors write, who recommend that clinicians "tailor information to patients' needs; prioritize to the most important, personally relevant information; organize and categorize; repeat and summarize the most relevant information and review it on subsequent visits; use simple language; and provide written materials or audio-recordings for later referral.

Prognosis Affects Memory of First Cancer Consultation - Patients with worse prognosis had less recall of information discussed in visit - Modern Medicine