A novel bedside communication tool.

Effective communication between patients, their families, their carers and health care professionals is paramount to the delivery of high quality care. Addressing the ideas, concerns and expectations of these groups may improve their healthcare experience. We propose that opening a new channel of communication between patients, families, carers and healthcare professionals on the wards would improve the delivery of healthcare. We present a novel written communication aid- the Care Communication Aid (CCA), with preliminary data from secondary and tertiary healthcare trials demonstrating its efficacy and shortcomings, and the reaction of both recipients and providers of healthcare to this novel approach.