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The Rhetoric Of Patient Voice: Reported Talk With Patients In Referral And Consultation Letters, Marlee Spafford, Catherine Schryer, Lorelei Lingard

Lorelei Lingard

Referral and consultation letters are written to enable the exchange of patient information and facilitate the trajectory of patients through the healthcare system. Yet, these letters, written about yet apart from patients, also sustain and constrain professional relationships and influence attitudes towards patients. We analysed 35 optometry referral letters and 35 corresponding ophthalmology consultation letters for reported 'patient voice' coded as 'experience' or 'agenda' and we interviewed 15 letter writers (eight optometry students, six optometrists, and one community ophthalmologist). There were 80 instances of reported 'patient voice' in 35 letters. The majority (68%) of the instances occurred in referral letters, …