Patient Information Sheets 2.0: A Practice Changing Secret Weapon

Haven’t read Patient Information Sheets 1.0 yet? Start there first – this one builds on it.

Quick recap: Patient information sheets (explaining a given presentation, treatment options and risks) help your day in three big ways:

1. streamline your visit before you walk in the room
2. improve how much patients actually retain
3. free you up to focus on what matters most for that patient.

Solid wins all around. But here’s the thing: the humble patient information sheet has a secret superpower that goes way beyond the visit itself.

It makes incorporating a practice extender work like a dream.

First, let’s dig a little deeper into how patient information sheets benefit you and patients.

When a patient has read through your patient information sheet (for their presentation) before you walk in the room, the education has already started.

Once you walk in, you can use the teach-back method to quickly confirm their understanding. Then, and this is awesome, spend your time on what only you can do: answering specific questions, addressing concerns and emphasizing what matters most for them.

That’s exactly how the attending who introduced me to these sheets used them. Efficient. Focused. Effective.

Now take patient information sheets one practice changing step further.

A patient information sheet doesn’t just prepare patients, it’s a tool that gives a practice extender everything they need to educate patients, get the history and start completing the note (using templates!) for that visit.

Real life example: In my practice I have extenders start most consults. (Note: see my carpal tunnel syndrome info sheet at the end of this post for more context).

1. The extenders review the patient information sheet for that presentation (ex. carpal tunnel syndrome) with the patient: what the condition is, treatment options, expected outcomes and risks.
2. They complete the history section of the consult note (again: templates) and briefly confirm the past medical history, medications and allergies (pre-entered by our documentation prepper).
3. By the time I arrive, the groundwork is done and I can do a focused exam, build some rapport quickly and get to business about confirming the plan. Not just efficient, effective.

“But what if the practice extender misses something important?”

That concern is real and it’s exactly why the information sheet is so powerful here. Because you made it, the sheet contain exactly what you want covered, in the order you want it covered.

The extender just has to work their way through it with the patient. The structure and the information are already baked in.

And here’s the bonus you didn’t see coming: the information on that sheet? It mirrors your consult note template. (Cue the “Circle of Life”.) Your extender fills out the template during the visit. You walk in, do your part and finalize the note. The heavy lifting? Already handled.

Patient Information sheets are a win for everyone in the room.

Patients: receive the same key information three times — they read it themselves, review it with the extender and hear it again from you. That kind of repetition is exactly what improves retention.

Practice extenders: have a concrete, reliable resource to guide their conversations with patients. No guessing. No gaps. For newer extenders especially, this makes onboarding dramatically easier and it gives them confidence that patients can feel.

You: spend less time on the repetitive parts of a consult without sacrificing quality or thoroughness. You get to focus on the part of the consult that really needs you. That’s not a small thing.

One more thing (and it’s a good one).

At the end of the visit, patients sign the bottom of the sheet – confirming they’ve seen and understood the information. That signed sheet gets scanned right into your EMR/EHR.

Not just a win-win. A win-win-win – and honestly, that never gets old.

Patient information sheets aren’t just for consults. They can be for a visit about a new diagnosis of diabetes. Or a 36 week OB appointment. Or your first follow up with expectations and reminders after starting a GLP-1.

Ready to see what this looks like in action? My patient information sheet for carpal tunnel syndrome is below.

Could patient information sheets change how your practice runs? I’d love to hear what you think.