Recent federal policy initiatives, including the Affordable Care
Act of 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services’
National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy, and the Plain
Writing Act of 2010, have brought health literacy to a tipping
point—that is, poised to make the transition from the margins to
the mainstream. Much of our health system assumes that every
patient we see has strong health literacy skills, and can be
strong advocates for themselves. But, as a video in a previous
post clearly demonstrated, many ordinary people find the process
of understanding and acting correctly on instructions from their
providers a difficult challenge. One study cited found that only
12% of U.S. adults have sufficient health literacy skills to
understand and effectively utilize health information. This can
lead to hospitalization when a patient does not follow
prescription instructions correctly, or recognize when their
condition is worsening. Healthcare providers and organizations
can change their processes