What's an effective AI prompt for writing patient education material on a new diagnosis or medication

The Prompt

Write a one-page patient education handout on [diagnosis or medication].

Cover: what it is (2-3 sentences, plain language), what the patient should expect day-to-day, common side effects or symptoms to monitor, and specific reasons to call the office versus go to the ER.
Reading level: aim for roughly an 8th-grade reading level. Avoid medical jargon; define any term you must use.

Why This Prompt Works

Health literacy research consistently finds patient materials written above an 8th-grade level go unread or misunderstood by a large share of patients — explicitly setting a reading-level target and separating “call the office” from “go to the ER” gives patients a decision rule they can actually use under stress.

How to Customize It

Have a clinician supply the specific side-effect list and ER-vs-office thresholds for that condition/medication — those are the facts the handout depends on being right. If the practice serves patients who speak a language other than English at home, consider having the plain-language version translated rather than written directly in a second language, so a clinician can still verify accuracy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t skip the reading-level instruction — without it, models default to a more clinical register than intended, defeating the point of a patient handout. Also avoid cramming in every possible side effect; a handout that lists everything buries the few reactions that actually warrant a call or an ER visit.

Bottom Line

Setting an explicit reading-level target and a clear call-the-office-versus-ER decision rule turns a generic handout into one patients can actually use.