Lack of health literacy leads to hospitalizations, ED use

Bethesda, MD – Americans’ inability to understand health information and navigate their way through the complex healthcare system leads to preventable hospitalizations, greater use of emergency care and reduced overall health status, says a paper in the February issue of Health Affairs.

In the article, “New Federal Policy Initiatives To Boost Health Literacy Can Help The Nation Move Beyond The Cycle Of Costly ‘Crisis Care’”
the authors call upon the Affordable Care Act, HHS’ National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy and the Plain Writing Act of 2010 to help Americans increase their capacity to obtain, communicate, process and understand basic health information and services.

“A wide chasm often separates what providers intend to convey in written and oral communication and what patients understand,” says the article. “Moreover, as our population grows more diverse with respect to age, culture and language, that chasm threatens to widen and exacerbate health disparities.”

The authors point to three methods with proven success in closing the knowledge gap as potential solutions:

Simplify written materials: Medication counseling using plain language and a pictogram-based intervention has been shown to result in fewer medication-dosage errors and greater adherence, compared to standard medication counseling.

Improve Providers’ Communication Skills: Training physicians and healthcare staff on ways to communicate effectively with patients with limited literacy skills yields positive results.

Improve Patients’ Self-Management Skills: Patients with limited literacy who receive information on self-management programs that use health literacy strategies are more likely to achieve program goals.