Studies Show That Informational Leaflets Don’t Curb Patient Visits

For every medical pamphlet we get at doctors’ offices and throw straight into the recycling bin, it seems there are 10 others that clutter our cars and purses, unread. Certainly, as two new studies show, the leaflets fail in their primary purpose--to reduce unnecessary physician visits.

In one study of about 4,000 people in England, researchers sent out information leaflets, as well as booklets called “What Should I Do?” containing information on about 40 common health problems, such as headaches, sore throats and sleepless nights. After a year, they found no significant difference in the frequency with which the recipients visited their doctor, compared with a control group.

In a similar survey of about 10,000 people, doctors in Scotland documented the same thing: Those who received information booklets visited doctors at about the same rate, and for the same reasons, as those who got no literature.

The investigators, commenting in the May 17 issue of the British Medical Journal (https://www.bmj.com), questioned whether the pamphlets and leaflets were worth printing costs, when one thing was so clear: We consumers prefer to get our information in person from doctors, even some of the simple stuff.