Health literacy

As we work to encourage patients to be partners in their care, it is important to remember the concept of health literacy. In South Carolina, it is estimated that 15% of our population is functionally illiterate. And health literacy goes beyond this. It is defined as "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions." Nationally, 36% of adults have limited health literacy. This has clear implications for patient safety, as patients that do not fully understand their diagnoses or treatments are unlikely to be able to comply with their treatment plans. Low health literacy is also expensive; one estimate from 2007 attributed the cost of low health literacy between $106 and $238 billion.

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