@article {Liddell667, author = {Christine Liddell and Gordon Rae and Tom RM Brown and David Johnston and Vivien Coates and John Mallett}, title = {Giving patients an audiotape of their GP consultation: a randomised controlled trial}, volume = {54}, number = {506}, pages = {667--672}, year = {2004}, publisher = {Royal College of General Practitioners}, abstract = {Background: Providing patients with an audiotape of their medical consultation has been a relatively common practice in oncology clinics for some years. However, broader generalisability of the technique has yet to be examined.Aims: To investigate the efficacy of providing patients with an audiotape of their consultation in a general practice setting.Design of study: Randomised controlled trial: 95 experimental participants, 85 controls.Setting: Routine surgeries run by two general practitioners (GPs) in two different health centres.Method: All patients attending GP appointments were eligible for inclusion. Patients were followed up by telephone 7{\textendash}10 days later.Results: More than half (61\%) of the patients who received a tape listened to it. Among listeners, 64\% rated the tape useful or very useful; 24\% noticed information not heard in the consultation. Half of listeners (46\%) said that their understanding of the consultation improved after listening to the tape. Half of the listeners (48\%) shared the tape with others, of whom 71\% found sharing helpful or very helpful. However, 21\% of those who shared the information with others found this unhelpful or very unhelpful, suggesting that patients may need to be briefed on the potential risks of sharing. At follow-up a week later, it emerged that being given a tape had no effect on adherence with GPs{\textquoteright} advice, nor on anxiety about conditions.Conclusion: Providing patients with an audiotape of their GP consultation was positively rated by many patients. Although there were no detectable clinical effects at follow-up, the technique merits further evaluation in general practice.}, issn = {0960-1643}, URL = {https://bjgp.org/content/54/506/667}, eprint = {https://bjgp.org/content/54/506/667.full.pdf}, journal = {British Journal of General Practice} }