“Medical information can be confusing. And most of us can recall having difficulty deciphering health information at one time or another. Whether you have stopped taking a prescription too soon because you didn’t understand the instructions or whether poor vision prevents you from accurately reading the label on the bottle, low health literacy can get in the way of good health care. Communication problems with health professionals can negatively impact the outcome of medical care for some patients, according to a report by the health literacy committee of the American Medical Association. The report also revealed that inadequate health literacy may increase the risk of hospitalization. ‘Health literacy is about communicating health information in ways patients and families can understand,’ explains Helen Osborne, M.Ed., president and founder of Health Literacy Consulting, an organization that promotes effective health communication.” (10/31/06)