A disturbingly high number of patients are unable to read and understand basic written medical instructions in hospitals, a new study has found, prompting researchers to urge more thorough patient education programs.
Researchers studied 2,659 predominantly poor and minority patients at two large public hospitals in Georgia and California. They found 42 percent were unable to comprehend directions for taking medication on an empty stomach; 26 percent were unable to understand information about their next appointment; and 60 percent could not understand a standard informed-consent document."Adults with illiteracy face formidable problems" gaining access to health care, concluded Dr. Steven Miles of the University of Minnesota and Terry Davis of Louisi-ana State University in an editorial accompanying the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Clinicians, hospitals and clinics must become more sensitive" to the problem.
- Alison Bass