Observations on written communications between physicians regarding patients' drug treatment compared with patients' recall.

The authors reviewed the quality of information shared by referring doctors with hospital consultants, in regard to past drug treatment in the cases of 95 consecutive patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Information contained in referral letters was compared with information obtained from patient interviews. It was found that the referral letters often contained little information on drug use and included no information on adverse reactions to drug therapy.