"Doctors' orders": controlled trial of supplementary, written information for patients Doctors' advice to patients may be complex and is usually given verbally. We studied the effect of providing supplementary, written information on patients' understanding and recall of both general information and specific recommendations. Fifty-six unselected patients discharged from an acute general medical and respiratory unit were studied. At the time of discharge one of us completed a short form in readily understandable language containing information normally given only verbally-namely, (a) diagnosis; (b) general advice (d) prognosis; and (e) follow-up arrangements. The information was explained carefully to each patient. Thirty patients were given a copy of the form ("written" group) and 26 were not ("verbal" group), allocation being determined by week of discharge. The groups were similar in sex and age distribution, interval to follow-up, and mean number of drugs prescribed, but more patients in the verbal group received "simple" advice. Every patient was seen again at follow-up and, without warning, questioned on the information given at the time of discharge. Their responses were recorded verbatim. At a later date performance was assessed and scored blind to patient grouping by comparison with the written forms retained in the case notes. The table gives the results. When the mean scores of the two groups were compared by a test for trend, a significantly better response by the written group was found for scores relating to diagnosis (P<OOO1), general advice (P<005), and drug treatment (P<0 05) but not for scores relating to prognosis or follow-up arrangements. There was a significant inverse correlation of age with individual total scores in each group; multiple regression analysis showed that the slopes of the lines did not differ significantly between the groups but that the intercepts did (t=4-14; 53 DF), confirming that at any given age patients in the written group scored significantly better. Complexity of information given and sex had no influence on response scores. Comment Patients often fail to follow doctors' recommendations. This potentially dangerous problem may be due to several causes, an important one of which is failure to understand and recall information.'-4 Fletcher5 pointed out that the most common criticism of doctors by patients is that they fail to give adequate information on disease and treatment, and also that a third of patients may forget or deny receiving information and recommendations that have been given by their doctors. Hospital inpatients are frequently given …