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Happy Health Literacy month: Helping patients improve their ability to understand and use health information
Difficulty understanding health information affects people of all ages, genders, races, abilities, socio-economic situations and education levels.
In honor of Health Literacy Month, the North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) is highlighting the importance of health literacy among patients and what medical professionals can do to help.
Listen to NCMB’s most recent MedBoard Matters podcast episode, “Prescription for Confusion: The cost of limited health literacy” to better understand the consequences of poor health literacy.
In addition, NCMB has created a patient-focused Health Literacy Brochure designed to help empower patients to take a more active role in their healthcare. The brochure outlines seven “tips” for improving health literacy skills, such as prioritizing what you want to talk about during a medical visit and asking questions during appointments to clarify terms, instructions or other matters.
Find a free printable one-page flyer on health literacy for use in your medical practice on NCMB’s website. This can be displayed in exam rooms or waiting areas to help raise patient awareness of the importance of health literacy and remind them of the different ways to strengthen their health literacy skills.
Find additional patient resources in NCMB’s online Smart Patient Toolkit. This online toolkit includes information on a variety of healthcare topics, including informed consent, preparing for a medical appointment, choosing credible health information and more.
In honor of Health Literacy Month, the North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) is highlighting the importance of health literacy among patients and what medical professionals can do to help.
Listen to NCMB’s most recent MedBoard Matters podcast episode, “Prescription for Confusion: The cost of limited health literacy” to better understand the consequences of poor health literacy.
In addition, NCMB has created a patient-focused Health Literacy Brochure designed to help empower patients to take a more active role in their healthcare. The brochure outlines seven “tips” for improving health literacy skills, such as prioritizing what you want to talk about during a medical visit and asking questions during appointments to clarify terms, instructions or other matters.
Find a free printable one-page flyer on health literacy for use in your medical practice on NCMB’s website. This can be displayed in exam rooms or waiting areas to help raise patient awareness of the importance of health literacy and remind them of the different ways to strengthen their health literacy skills.
Find additional patient resources in NCMB’s online Smart Patient Toolkit. This online toolkit includes information on a variety of healthcare topics, including informed consent, preparing for a medical appointment, choosing credible health information and more.