Ask the Expert: Is Your Patients' Understanding Putting You at Risk?
Effective health literacy in healthcare is essential for ensuring informed consent, reducing medical malpractice risks, and enhancing patient-provider communication. Unfortunately, clinicians often assume that patients have a thorough understanding of medical information — even after they’ve discussed diagnoses, treatments, benefits, side effects, post-treatment care, and other vital details.
According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, only 12% of adults in the United States have proficient health literacy skills. This deficiency can significantly impact informed consent issues due to misunderstandings and misinformed decisions, which could lead to potential legal complications for healthcare providers.
Coverys’ senior risk specialists Dana Taylor, MHA, CPHRM, CPPS, and Robin Webster, MHA, BSN, RN, CPHRM, explain why health literacy is so crucial and how you can use it to improve patient interactions, reduce the risk of claims, and improve patient safety. Some of the topics covered include:
- The importance of using plain language during all patient interactions
- The significance of using the teach-back method
- The link between health literacy and malpractice lawsuits
- Responding to adverse events
Learn why promoting health literacy is a fundamental step toward improving the quality and safety of healthcare.
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