Qual Lett Healthc Lead. 2003 Jul;15(7):2-11, 1.
A recent survey from the American Medical Association Foundation found that the issue of health literacy is just a blip on many physicians' radar screens. However, this problem is beginning to receive greater attention because of its magnitude: An estimated 90 million adult Americans face challenges in understanding basic, common instructions given to them by their physicians. Related to low health literacy is the potential impact on patient outcomes, which could mean additional healthcare costs of up to $73 billion annually. This issue of The Quality Letter for Healthcare Leaders looks at how health literacy is defined and what can be done to improve communication among providers and patients from all walks of life to promote quality healthcare.
美国医学协会基金会最近的一项调查发现，健康素养问题在许多医生的关注范围内只是一个小问题。然而，由于这个问题的规模，它开始受到更多关注：据估计，9000万成年美国人在理解医生给他们的基本、常见指示方面面临挑战。与低健康素养相关的是对患者治疗结果的潜在影响，这可能意味着每年高达730亿美元的额外医疗费用。本期《医疗保健领导者质量简报》探讨了健康素养是如何定义的，以及可以采取哪些措施来改善各行各业的医疗服务提供者与患者之间的沟通，以促进高质量的医疗保健。
