You will often be asked to consult with patients and provide various letters throughout your career. Some examples include a primary care provider who may ask you to see their patient who they feel is too young or too complex for them to manage. When they have referred this patient to you, it is a professional courtesy to write a letter thanking them for the referral and explaining your diagnosis and treatment plans. In addition, patients may ask you to write letters to the school or their employer to excuse an absence or for school/ work accommodations. These are appropriate requests; however, you must be aware that you must not violate HIPPA laws when writing these letters.
For your assignment, choose a patient you have seen during your clinical experience to write a professional letter. The letter can either be
· A consultation letter that you would send back to a primary care provider who referred a patient to you to update them on the status of the patient or
· A school/ work for recommendations for a patient who needs special accommodations, FMLA, IEP, or 504.
Remember that no actual identifying information should be included in your submission.