More than 77 million individuals in the United States have limited health literacy skills and will likely encounter challenges interpreting and acting upon health information. (2) According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, nine out of ten adults may not have the skills needed to manage their health and prevent disease.
Health literacy, as defined by The Center for Disease Control (CDC), is the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, communicate, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. (3) It can affect a patient’s ability to navigate the healthcare system, locate providers and services, fill out complex medical forms, and engage in chronic- disease management and self-care.
One of the most common patient safety issues linked to poor health literacy is the risk of medication errors resulting from improper dosing administration. Additionally, some studies have found low health literacy to be associated with the misunderstanding of medical instructions, medication names, indications and poor adherence to treatment regimens. (1)
Research has also shown limited health literacy to be connected to delayed diagnoses, decreased use of preventative services, increased rates of hospitalization, poorer health status, limited self-management skills, and a greater mortality risk. Consequently, health literacy issues cost the U.S. health care system between $106 and $238 billion annually. (2)
Therefore, addressing health literacy has become a primary objective for many healthcare systems across the US, to improve patient safety. Improving health literacy is a collective responsivity that includes healthcare organizations, healthcare providers, policymakers, purchasers and payers, regulatory bodies, and healthcare consumers themselves. (1)
The Joint Commission encourages healthcare organizations to start by creating and maintaining cultures of quality and safety. Below they have outlined some best practices for making effective communications a priority to protect the safety of patients. (1)