Patient information page template: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:31, 6 August 2012

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Charmaine Patel, M.D. [2]

The goal of the patient information page is to give a comprehensive description of the disease for a patient.
It should be written at a 5th to 8th grade reading level, and if medical terminology is used, it should be explained.
Examples of patient information pages that are good references, are the pages on Chronic stable angina here, and Pericarditis here.
Follow the format, headings, and capitalizations of letters as outlined below in the template.Only capitalize the disease name if it is at the start of a sentence, or a proper noun, meaning someones name (eg, Lou-Gherig's disease, Alport syndrome, Addison's disease)
The title of the page should be: Disease name (patient information). Only the first letter of the heading is capitalized.
Create the page in the second person perspective eg "You should call your doctor if you experience....." or "You may experience symptoms such as...."

This section should give a brief description of the disease, and have the name of the disease in the first sentence.
For an example of the overview section of a patient page, click here

Here you can list the symptoms that the patient may notice. Remember that signs are different from symptoms.
For an example of the symptoms section in a patient information page, click here.

Here you can list the causes of the disease. Remember this is what causes the disease, not what the disease causes.
For an example of the causes section on a patient information page, click here.

Here you can list, or write in sentences, the most common risk factors for developing the disease.

This section can separated into modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors if appropriate.

For an example of a risk factors section on a patient information page, click here.

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 * Here you can list the causes of the disease. Remember this is what causes the disease, not what the disease causes.
 * For an example of the causes section on a patient information page, click [[Pericarditis (patient information)#What causes Pericarditis|here]].
+==Who is at highest risk?==
+* Here you can list, or write in sentences, the most common risk factors for developing the disease.
+* This section can separated into modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors if appropriate.
+* For an example of a risk factors section on a patient information page, click [[Chronic stable angina (patient information)#Who is at highest risk|here]].