Copying patients in is not as simple as it seems

doi:10.1136/bmj.a2687

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Brian McKinstry, reader1

¹Primary Care Research, Division of Community Health Sciences: General Practice Section, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9DR

brian.mckinstry{at}ed.ac.uk

Richards advocates copying patients into all correspondence on the grounds of improving health literacy,1 but a sizeable minority of people in the UK have general literacy problems and are unlikely to benefit.2

As currently written, many letters from hospitals are difficult for patients to understand. My colleagues and I have had to explain to alarmed and bewildered patients who have received copies …