3/3/2008
5
Why are Low Literacy Patients at Risk?
n
Increasing pressure on health care
providers to see higher numbers of
patients = less time per patient
n
Use of “medicalese” by health
professionals
Why are Low Literacy Patients at Risk?
•
Increasing pressure on health care providers to see higher numbers of patients = less time per patient
•
due to pressures of managed care, i.e. HMOs, PPOs, etc.
•
Use of “medicalese” by health professionals
•
It is very similar to a foreign language, except medical personnel may forget they are speaking in terms that laypeople cannot understand.
