Readability of CAMHS Clinical Letters

Background: Sending clinical letters to patients is common practice in CAMHS. Ease of reading and understanding is important for patients. Readability formulae are feasible and quick ways to assess this.

Method: Clinical letters sent to patients were analysed for readability and whether they reached a preset threshold. Factors influencing readability were investigated.

Results: Most letters were less easily readable than is appropriate. Letters written directly to patients were more readable than copied letters.

Conclusions: Patients sometimes receive letters that are unlikely to be easily readable. Word processing packages contain readability formulae that could be used to check and improve readability of letters.