It has long been understood that there exists a direct correlation between healthcare literacy and patient outcomes. Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. People with limited health literacy often lack knowledge or have misinformation about the body and the nature or causes of disease; without this understanding, one may not realize the relationship among lifestyle choices, healthcare options and health.
According to the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, only 10 percent of the U.S. population is fully health literate; 40 percent have only "basic" or "below basic" health literacy levels. If patients don't understand providers' instructions, it can easily become dangerous for the patient and costly for the health care system.
- Current cost of health illiteracy = between $106 billion and $236 billion annually.
- Adding in future costs resulting from current health inattention is estimated between $1.6 trillion and $3.6 trillion.
- The human cost of health illiteracy:
- Higher rates of disease and mortality (up to 100,000 deaths per year);
- more frequent use of emergency rooms and inpatient care; and
- lower use of basic preventative care measures.
A recently released report by the
National Research Council and the
Institute of Medicine details how the U.S. is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet we have an increasingly unhealthy population. Specifically, U.S. citizens live shorter lives, are in worse health, and have the poorest health outcomes than citizens of our 16 "peer" countries. In this report, the healthcare system and the high cost of care are being blamed for our national health status.
But health illiteracy may not be directly connected with the cost of care, nor is illiteracy merely the result of patients being unable to understand their providers or communicate effectively in return. Some argue that physicians must accept the bulk of the responsibility, as they have a long history of being poor communicators. Confusion about medications tops the list of complications. Additionally, literacy is dependent on:
- Communications skills of lay persons and professionals;
- lay and professional knowledge of health topics;
- patients' culture; and
- demands of the healthcare and public health system.
The fiscal fallout of low health literacy lands directly on federal, state and local governments. To begin to counter the effects, federal agencies have started to take action. HHS's
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is providing $100 million in grants in support of health literacy initiatives, and the
National Plan to Improve Health Literacy seeks to engage organizations, professionals, policymakers, communities, individuals, and families in a linked effort for improvement. Their principals:
- Everyone has the right to health information that helps them make informed decisions.
- Health services should be delivered in ways that are understandable and beneficial to health, longevity, and quality of life.
Like most other complicated issues, health literacy is complicated because of the depth and reach of contributing factors. However, as one of the 17 richest countries in the world, you would think we could figure it out.