During a family member’s hospitalization eighteen months ago, I was able to see first-hand the process by which medical information is conveyed by doctors to the people in their care. It was an illuminating process: the doctors did their best to explain what was happening and what could be done, but the information was so technical and complex that only the help of another person with medical training allowed us to make sense of it. I wondered then if it might make sense for hospitals to employ people as medical translators between doctors and patients.
Earlier this month, the Joint Commission, a hospital accreditation organization, put out a report on the problem of medical (il)literacy. “Far too often,” they said, “ordinary citizens are placed at risk for unsafe care because important health care information is communicated using medical jargon and unclear language that exceed their literacy skills.” The report recommended everything from medical interpreters to better consent forms and training staff to speak in plain language.
Have any of you had a medical care problem originating in miscommunication between you and your doctor?
Low Health Literacy Puts Patients at Risk: The Joint Commission Sets Forth Solutions to National Problem [press release]
