Tutorial: Your First AI-Assisted Patient Letter — A Complete Walkthrough

This tutorial walks you through the complete process of using an AI tool to draft a patient letter. We will use a fictional scenario: a patient newly diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

You do not need any previous experience. You just need a computer or phone and about twenty minutes.

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What We Are Doing and Why

You have just seen a patient in clinic — let's call her "Mrs A" — a 47-year-old teacher newly diagnosed with hypothyroidism. She has a lot of questions, she is anxious, and her husband has been reading alarming things online. You want to send her a clear, calming letter that explains her condition, what the treatment is trying to do, and when she will be reviewed.

Writing this from scratch takes fifteen minutes. Using AI to produce a first draft takes two minutes — and then you spend five minutes reviewing and adjusting it.

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Step 1: Open the AI Tool

Go to claude.ai or chat.openai.com in your web browser. Both have free versions that do not require payment.

If you work in an NHS trust or other healthcare organisation that has an approved AI tool, use that instead — your information governance team will have set it up with appropriate safeguards.

Create a free account if prompted (you will need an email address). Then you will see a blank text box — this is where you type your instructions.

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Step 2: Write Your Prompt

Here is the key skill: writing a clear instruction for the AI. This instruction is called a "prompt". The more specific your prompt, the better the output.

Click in the text box and type the following. Notice that we are not including any real patient details — we are describing a fictional scenario:

"Write a patient education letter for a 47-year-old woman newly diagnosed with hypothyroidism. She is a teacher with no science background. She is anxious and her family has been reading things online that have worried her.

Cover the following in plain English:

1. What the thyroid does and what hypothyroidism means
2. Why her TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) is high — explain this in a way that makes sense to a non-scientist
3. What the treatment aims to achieve and roughly how long it takes to feel the effects
4. A reassuring but honest note about living with this condition long-term
5. What she should do if she has concerns before her next appointment

Tone: warm, clear, not frightening. Use short paragraphs. Around 300 words. Do not mention specific drug names or doses."

Press Enter or click the send button.

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Step 3: Read What the AI Produces

Within a few seconds, the AI will produce a draft letter. Here is an example of what it might look like:

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Dear [Patient name],

Thank you for coming to see me recently. I wanted to write to you with a little more information about your diagnosis, and I hope this letter answers some of the questions you and your family may have.

Your thyroid is a small gland at the front of your neck. Its job is to produce hormones that keep your energy levels stable, regulate your temperature, and help almost every organ in your body work properly. When the thyroid becomes underactive — a condition called hypothyroidism — it does not produce enough of these hormones. This is why you may have been feeling more tired than usual, sensitive to cold, or generally not yourself.

You may have noticed that your blood test showed a result called TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) was high. This can seem confusing — if the thyroid is underactive, why would a hormone level be high? Think of it this way: TSH is the signal your brain sends to your thyroid, asking it to produce more hormone. If the thyroid is not responding well, the brain sends louder and louder signals. A high TSH is your body trying hard to compensate.

The treatment for hypothyroidism involves taking a small tablet each morning that replaces the hormone your thyroid is no longer making in sufficient amounts. Most people begin to feel better over a number of weeks, though it can take a few months to find the right dose for you.

Most people with hypothyroidism go on to live completely normally. With regular monitoring and the right treatment, there is no reason this condition should stop you living your life as you want to.

If you have any concerns before your next appointment, please do not hesitate to contact the clinic. We are here to help.

Kind regards, [Your name]

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This is a solid first draft. Now you need to review it.

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Step 4: Review the Draft Carefully

Read the letter as if you are Mrs A reading it at home that evening. Ask yourself:

Is it clinically accurate? The TSH explanation uses a "louder signal" analogy — does that feel right to you? It is a reasonable simplification, though not perfect. Decide if you would keep it or adjust it.

Is anything missing? You wanted a point about what to do if symptoms worsen. That is included in the closing paragraph. Good.

Is the tone right? The letter is warm and reassuring without being dismissive of her concerns. That feels appropriate for this scenario.

Is anything there that should not be? The line "there is no reason this condition should stop you living your life as you want to" — is that accurate for your patient group? For most patients with well-managed hypothyroidism, yes. But you are the clinician who decides.

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Step 5: Ask for Revisions

Suppose you want the analogy slightly different — you prefer to explain TSH using a thermostat metaphor rather than a "louder signal" metaphor. Type a follow-up instruction in the same conversation:

"Can you change the TSH explanation to use a thermostat analogy instead? Keep everything else the same."

The AI will revise just that section. You can do this as many times as you like.

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Step 6: Copy Into Your System

When you are happy with the structure and content, select all the text in the AI's response and copy it. Paste it into a Word document or your clinical correspondence system.

Do not send it from the AI tool directly to anyone.

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Step 7: Add Patient Specifics

Now add what the AI could not: Mrs A's actual name, your own name and contact details, the clinic address, the date, and any specific elements of her personal management plan that you want to include (reviewed, without clinical detail that changes the letter's purpose as an education document).

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Step 8: Final Check and Send

Read the complete letter one final time. Check for accuracy, personalisation, and that nothing is missing. Then send it through your usual clinical correspondence system.

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What You Have Just Learned

You have written a patient education letter in about seven minutes, compared to the fifteen it might have taken from scratch. More importantly, you now understand the workflow:

1. Write a specific prompt (no real patient details)
2. Read the output critically as a clinician
3. Ask for revisions if needed
4. Copy into your own system
5. Add patient specifics and review
6. Send through your normal channel

Every other AI task in endocrinology works the same way. The prompt changes; the process does not.

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Remember: AI is a helpful assistant, not a clinician. You make the call.