Workflow: Drafting a Patient Education Letter

This workflow takes around ten to fifteen minutes from start to finish. It produces a draft patient letter explaining a stage of the IVF process. You will review and personalise it before it goes anywhere near a patient.

Steps

Step 1: Decide what the letter needs to do. Before you open any AI tool, be clear about your goal. Is this a pre-cycle information letter? A post-retrieval update? A letter explaining a cancelled cycle? Write one sentence describing what you want the patient to know and feel after reading it.

Step 2: Note the key points to cover. Jot down three to five bullet points — the information this specific letter must include. You do not need to write full sentences. For example: "why stimulation was stopped early / what this means for this cycle / next steps / who to call with questions." This becomes your prompt structure.

Step 3: Open your AI tool and start a new conversation. Use Claude at claude.ai, or ChatGPT at chat.openai.com. Start a fresh conversation — do not continue from a previous one, as earlier context can confuse the output.

Step 4: Write your prompt. Type something like: "Write a patient letter for someone aged [age range] who [situation in general terms]. The letter should cover: [your bullet points from Step 2]. Tone: warm, honest, plain English, no jargon. Length: around 250 words." Do not include the patient's real name or any identifying information.

Step 5: Read the draft carefully. Read the entire output before doing anything else. Check that the facts are right. Check that the tone is appropriate for this patient and this situation. AI sometimes produces a generic warmth that does not fit a complex or emotionally charged case.

Step 6: Identify what needs changing. Mark anything that is wrong, unclear, or does not sound like you. This might be one sentence or several paragraphs. Do not feel obliged to keep anything.

Step 7: Ask AI to revise specific parts. You can type follow-up instructions into the same conversation, for example: "The third paragraph is too clinical. Rewrite it in a warmer tone." Or: "Add a sentence acknowledging how difficult this news may feel." You do not need to start over.

Step 8: Copy the revised draft into your own document. Move it into your word processor or patient communication system. Format it with your clinic letterhead. Add the patient's name and any clinic-specific details now — these should never have been in the AI tool.

Step 9: Read it once more as the patient would. Put yourself in the patient's position. Does it answer their likely questions? Does it sound human? Would you be comfortable receiving this letter?

Step 10: Send or save for review. If your clinic requires a colleague or nurse to review patient letters, share it through your normal process. If it goes directly, send it. The AI draft is gone — what exists now is your letter.

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