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Copying letters to patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Bryan Lask*
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Jenner Wing, CranmerTerrace, London SW7 0RE
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Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Copyright © 2004. The Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Sarah Hulin-Dickens (Psychiatric Bulletin (Correspondence) August 2004, 28, 305) expresses considerable concern about the issue of copying letters to patients.

In contrast, my experience over 15 years of this practice is very positive. Parents are extraordinarily grateful and the patients themselves have no hesitation in correcting any errors and pointing out any omissions. The letters form a useful forum for further discussion, as well as a reminder of previous discussions. On no occasion have I ever received a complaint, either from a patient, a parent or any of the many professionals who receive copies of such letters.

This experience is shared by a number of colleagues and I hope that Dr Hulin-Dickens will feel reassured.

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