ICE(F) and TED are methods of exploring what the patient knows and wants to know in their consultation.

ICE (F)

Exploring a person’s Ideas, Concerns, Expectations and Feelings helps establish their view of the problem and is a more person-centred approach.

Here are some examples of how you could use ICE(F):

• Ideas: Do you have any ideas about how best to manage these changes?
• Concerns: Is there anything in particular that is worrying you?
• Expectations: Have you had any thoughts on what might be the best approach? Have you tried anything already?
• Feelings: How are you feeling about all of this?

TED

Using very open questions, which start with Tell, Explain or Describe and invite the person to tell you their story, will help you gather more information in a shorter time.

Here are some examples of how you could use TED:

• Tell me about your recent admission to hospital
• Explain what you understand about the changes made to your medicines
• Describe the changes to your medicines. What has stopped? Is this temporary? Are there any new items? How long have you been advised to take each medicine?