We currently live in a time that many have dubbed the “age of information” and are exposed to and consume more information than ever before. In a world where medical care has become increasingly complex, a new term has emerged to understand healthcare: “health literacy.”
What is Health Literacy
According to the Center for Health Care Strategies, health literacy is defined as the “degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.”
Despite the name, health literacy goes beyond reading comprehension. Making medical decisions for yourself or for someone else is a highly complex process, so understanding the complexities of both the medical system and the recommended treatments is essential for making the best decisions possible.
Health literacy in both individuals and organizations takes form in three primary ways: healthcare, understanding medical information to make informed choices; disease prevention, understanding information about treatment risk factors and acting accordingly; and, finally, health promotion, understanding health factors and making lifestyle adjustments accordingly.
Health literacy goes beyond just the individual. On an organizational level, it requires that medical providers communicate the medical information patients need to make informed decisions about their care and the care of their loved ones.
According to the National Library of Medicine, about 50% of Americans have inadequate or marginal health literacy, especially among older and lower-income demographics. This gap is partly due to the jargon in which medical information is often communicated, as well as the fact that the average U.S. adult reads at around an 8th-grade level, while the average medical material is written at or above a 10th-grade level.
The Effect of a Lack of Health Literacy: Patients
This lack of health literacy can have dire consequences for patients. In general, lower rates of health literacy result in more hospitalizations and ER visits, fewer efforts at preventative treatments, higher healthcare costs, and higher rates of mortality.
Additionally, in an increasingly complex healthcare environment, patients face increasing pressure as they navigate the system and advocate for their own care. Patients with lower health literacy have difficulty contending with this system, restricting their ability to actively participate in their own medical care and decision-making and reducing their overall quality of care.
A recent study conducted by the National Library of Medicine found that patients dealing with lower health literacy are more likely to find health information from social media, TV, or personal blogs. Additionally, they display higher rates of distrust towards their healthcare providers. This likely has to do with the accessibility of this type of media, the rising use of social media, and breakdowns in communication between doctors and their patients.
Those contending with a lack of health literacy also contend with increased rates of anxiety and stress, which can exacerbate their health issues. Sometimes, patients, whether through embarrassment or a lack of information, do not always ask clarifying questions of the physician or fully explain their symptoms. This hesitation can lead to misdiagnoses and reduce the ability of the patient to manage their symptoms, including not being able to use their prescriptions according to the directions.
Lower rates of health literacy can also lead to a reduction in efforts to take advantage of preventative measures, such as cancer screenings. The lack of these measures can lead to rising rates of ER visits and hospitalizations, including longer stays and increased readmissions, leading to additional costs and less-than-optimal outcomes.
In worst-case scenarios, patients with lower health literacy have a higher rate of mortality because of a lack of understanding and use of preventative measures or knowledge of how to manage their health issues.
Rockwell and Health Literacy
To enhance organizational health literacy efforts, Rockwell has partnered with PatientPoint, a digital network that supports our providers and patients by offering timely and convenient health information in the office. By incorporating a robust digital health library and virtual 3D models, Rockwell creates additional opportunities for patients to actively engage with our providers around anatomy and disease processes.
The exam room screens foster an interactive conversation with our patients and even provide the means to send additional information directly to them through their smartphones. This information can assist patients in making informed decisions about their health and treatment.
Final Thoughts
An understanding of health literacy is a necessity for patients and doctors seeking to navigate a complex medical system, essential for patients to communicate their healthcare needs to their physician, and for the doctor, so they can understand how best to give patients the care they require.
By partnering with PatientPoint, Rockwell Physicians provides another tool for our patients to access medical information and create conversations to enhance trust and open dialogue between physician and patient.
The more that patients understand about their healthcare, the more they can take control of their health, improving their overall quality of life.