THE PATIENT-CENTRED TINNITUS MANAGEMENT TOOL
Hashir Aazh*, Brian C. J. Moore**, Pete Roberts*
*Audiology Department, Ealing Hospital, Uxbridge Road, London UB1 3HW, UK
**Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
The Patient-Centred Tinnitus Management Tool (PCTMT) is a poster which explains the causes of tinnitus and encourages patients to decide for themselves the way they want to deal with their tinnitus. The main aims of this tool are: (1) to explain the different ways of dealing with tinnitus in a very straightforward way and (2) to encourage patients to decide for themselves the treatment option which suits them the best. This poster should be used AFTER patients visit their ENT specialist.
The results of a clinical audit performed at Ealing Primary Care Trust revealed that only 40% of 40 consecutive patients referred over a period of two months wished to undertake tinnitus counselling and were subsequently added to the tinnitus counselling waiting list. The PCTMT tool thus reduced the number of patients who would otherwise have been (reluctantly) referred for tinnitus counselling by 60%. This has allowed the audiologist to spend more time with the people who need intervention the most. This has increased the quality of care and has led to more efficient use of resources.
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