Patient education in neurology.

Patient education is an important component of quality patient care and offers many potential benefits. Health care providers are responsible for giving patients the education they want and need to optimize their health and make health decisions. This review provides a definition of patient education; examines the potential benefits and effectiveness of patient education; builds a general framework for approaching patient education as it pertains to patient knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, and skills; and summarizes representative studies of patient education in selected neurologic conditions. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.