Health Literacy

The Doctors Company supports the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) policy recognizing that limited patient literacy affects medical diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, we encourage the development of programs that train physicians to effectively communicate with patients who have limited literacy skills.

Studies have shown that people from all ages, races, incomes, and education levels are challenged by an inability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions and follow instructions for treatment. A recent government study estimates that over 89 million American adults have limited health literacy skills. Individuals with limited health literacy incur medical expenses that are up to four times greater than patients with adequate literacy skills.
 
A link has been shown to exist between provider-patient communication and a patient’s satisfaction, compliance, and improved outcomes. In multicultural and minority populations, the issue of communication may play an even larger role because of the linguistic, contextual, and cultural barriers that preclude effective provider-patient communication.

Financial issues, language barriers and cultural misunderstandings are the main reasons that immigrants get fewer and poorer quality medical services than U.S.-born English speakers. Research has shown that services for minorities can be improved by removing language barriers and redesigning the health care delivery system. The professionalism of the individual physician rests on his or her ability to deliver the highest quality and safest care to everyone.

The Doctors Company strives to help every physician improve patient safety. We encourage you to explore these resources through the AMA Foundation:

Health literacy toolkit
Health literacy patient safety monographs
Health literacy patient safety tip cards
Health literacy partnerships