In the News
On this page you will find the latest news on what’s happening in the world of patient engagement and health literacy.
Patient Health Literacy Limited Ahead of Open Enrollment Season
Lacking health literacy skills are keeping over 80 percent of patients fully understanding their health insurance benefits before open enrollment.
Limited health literacy keeps nearly one-quarter of patients from accessing medical care, for fear that their health payers will not cover certain services, according to new survey data from Policygenius.
You can read the complete article here.
HHS Leaders Highlight the Importance of Health Literacy
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is fortunate to have an active health literacy workgroup that represents over a dozen agencies. Its mission is to advance health literacy across our department… In celebration of Health Literacy Month, the workgroup collected insights from leaders across HHS to highlight how addressing health literacy is central to achieving departmental and agency goals, and how HHS has contributed to health literacy improvement.
You can read the complete article here.
HHS Leaders Highlight the Importance of Health Literacy
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is fortunate to have an active health literacy workgroup that represents over a dozen agencies. Its mission is to advance health literacy across our department… In celebration of Health Literacy Month, the workgroup collected insights from leaders across HHS to highlight how addressing health literacy is central to achieving departmental and agency goals, and how HHS has contributed to health literacy improvement.
You can read the complete article here.
Consumers are confused about healthcare: Here’s how physicians can help
Few issues are more confusing to Americans than ever shifting healthcare laws. In recent years, they’ve seen the Affordable Care Act pass and have heard countless debates about its merits. This constant uncertainty surrounding healthcare in the United States leaves most patients at a loss on a topic vital to their well-being.
You can read the complete article here.
In a review of 337,000 patient cases, this was the No. 1 most common preventable medical error
Preventable medical harm is still far too common, but experts say patients can take steps to protect themselves.
One in 20 patients (6%) is impacted by preventable medical errors, according to a recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal BMJ. What’s more, about 12% of preventable patient harm results in “prolonged, permanent disability” or even death.
You can read the complete article here.
Guidance & Tools
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
The guidance and tools on this page by the CDC can help make your health information accurate, accessible, and actionable. Topics include Communication Guidance, Material Assessment Tools, Plain Language Materials & Resources, and Web Communication Guidance
You can access the complete guide here.
Who is a Health Literacy Hero?
Health Literacy Heroes are individuals, teams, and organizations who identify health literacy problems and act to solve them. Being a hero, enables you to share and inform other health literacy professionals of your ideas, and your influence. Together we have superpowers!
You can read the full article here.
Doctors’ words can be wounding — or healing
As I listened intently to a resident physician presenting the case of a little girl with asthma, I could hear the young doctor’s frustration. Her 7-year-old patient “was hospitalized once again,” she said with an audible sigh, probably because of the mother’s “noncompliance” with her daughter’s medication regimen.
You can read the full announcement here.
The Link Between Health Literacy & Cancer Communication
August 20, 2019 (ONCOLOGY TIMES)
In an era of increasingly complex advances in oncology, how can health professionals help cancer patients with low health literacy better understand their diagnoses and treatment options? In an effort to improve cancer communication strategies with patients, the National Cancer Policy Forum (NCPF) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) convened a meeting of invited speakers in Washington, D.C. The event was held in collaboration with the NAS Roundtable on Health Literacy.
You can read the full article here.
Patient-Provider Communication: Shared Decision-Making Enhances Care
August 06, 2019 (Specialty Pharmacy Times)
Effective patient-provider communication results in optimum patient outcomes and includes shared decision-making between the patient and provider, weighing the pros and cons of treatment, and making an informed decision as a result. As a 24-year survivor of terminal leukemia, I favor this type of mutual respect regardless of the provider’s specialty or role. From my experiences with providers, shared decision-making, or patient centeredness, provides more empowerment for the patient and fosters trust and confidence in the health care provider.
You can read the full article here.
Organizational Health Literacy: Quality Improvement Measures with Expert Consensus
July 3, 2019 (Healio.com)
The health care system is complex. Health care organizations can make things easier for patients by making changes to improve communication and to help patients find their way around, become engaged in the health care process, and manage their health.
We sought to identify and evaluate existing OHL-related QI measures. To complement prior efforts to develop measures based on patient-reported data, we sought to identify measures computed from clinical, administrative, QI, or staff-reported data. Our goal was to develop a set of measures that experts agree are valuable for informing OHL-related QI activities. We identify 22 measures that organizations can use to monitor their efforts to improve communication with and support for patients.
You can read the full article here.
Health Literacy Positively Associated With Health-Related QOL in Patients With COPD
July 2, 2019 (AJMC)
Increased health literacy is associated with positive health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes in chronic obstruction pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, according to a new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
“Although previous research has shown a relatively high prevalence of low health literacy among individuals living with COPD, little attention has been directed at exploring the cognitive and health literacy- related skills that can influence patients HRQoL… Findings from this study indicated that health literacy, but not eHealth literacy, was positively associated with generic HRQOL.”
You can read the full article here.
Health-care providers join social media to dispel misconceptions, offer inspiration
June 18, 2019 (The Columbus Dispatch)
Looking for a tool to combat online misinformation and misconceptions he heard from patients, Dr. Dave Stukus turned to relatives for advice.
His brother-in-law suggested Twitter.
Though unfamiliar with the social medium, Stukus took a leap of faith and joined Twitter in 2013, meeting many families where they were going for health information.
“People have done a good job of documenting that not only are people going online for this information but also the amount of bad information out there,” said Stukus, a pediatric allergy and asthma specialist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. “There is a lot of snake oil being sold online.”
You can read the full article here.
Social determinants of health: What medical students need to know
June 14, 2019 (American Medical Association)
Where your patients were born, where they work, play and grow older all have a big impact on what their health outcomes will be, with research showing that a person’s overall health is mostly driven by social, economic and environmental factors.
You can read the full article here.
Never Say ‘Die’: Why So Many Doctors Won’t Break Bad News
June 12, 2019 (Kaiser Health News)
Dr. Ron Naito, an internist in Portland, Ore., was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in August 2018. His doctor wouldn’t confirm the terminal diagnosis, even though Naito read the test results and understood what they meant. (Michael Hanson for KHN)
You can read the full article here.
Solicitation for Written Comments on an Updated Health Literacy Definition for Healthy People 2030
June 4, 2019 (Office of the Federal Register)
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides notice of a request for comments about the proposed update to the definition of health literacy. The Secretary’s Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for Healthy People 2030 used the following working definition: “Health literacy occurs when a society provides accurate health information and services that people can easily find, understand, and use to inform their decisions and actions.”
You can read the full announcement here.