Strategies to Improve Communication Between Pharmacy Staff and Patients

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Health literacy is a complex issue which is made up of many areas including the ability to understand instructions on prescription drug bottles, appointment slips, medical education brochures, doctor's directions and consent forms, and the ability to negotiate complex health care systems. Requirements include reading, listening, analytical and decision-making skills, and the ability to apply these skills to health situations. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has even included improved consumer health literacy as Objective 11-2, and identified health literacy as an important component of health communication, medical product safety, and oral health in the report Healthy People 2010. In many cases, your patients depend on you! This program will help you to understand the effects of health literacy and how you can communicate with your patients, eliminating many fears and insecurities associated with healthcare. Implementing these techniques will contribute to improving overall quality of healthcare and reducing economic costs related to low health literacy. This program will define health literacy as well as review techniques to improve communication with low-literacy patients. You will become a better resource for your patients, allowing them to take a more active role in their own healthcare decisions.