'It was like being hit with a brick': a qualitative study on the effect of clinicians' delivery of a diagnosis of eye disease for patients in primary and secondary care.
Anne E FerreyLucy MooreJasleen Kaur JollyPublished in: BMJ open (2022)
Interactions with clinicians can have a lasting impact on how a diagnosis is experienced and how well the patient is able to come to terms with their visual impairment. Receiving little or no information left patients feeling lost and unsupported. This led them to search for information from less reliable sources. Clinicians should consider how they communicate a diagnosis to patients, how and when they offer information about diagnosis and prognosis and where possible signpost patients to additional support systems and counselling services as early as possible.