Recently there’s been a lot of press about a new study of back pain patients who had varying degrees of understanding about their treatment plans. The study looked at health literacy rates by differences in culture, economics and types of diagnoses. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, health literacy is: “The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions”.
When a physician provides a diagnosis and then a treatment plan, it’s often done in a very short amount of time. In fact, many times we only get about 8-15 minutes for each physician appointment. But each of us processes information differently, especially during times of stress. “I have what!” We also know that economics, educational levels and cultural differences play into our ability to understand technical and often highly specialized information.
Just the other day I was talking to a friend about how to build a website, and after about15 minutes of me going on and on she looked at me and said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I thought I was being very clear. It took time, but I had to figure out a way to describe to her a process that didn’t use jargon and was simple for her to understand.
If we’re serious about improving patient compliance rates, it’s obvious that more time has to be given to explaining diagnoses and next steps. Medical providers need to take the time to examine if a patient really understands what she/he has to do. I can hear the sighs now because frankly, doctors and nurses are often over-taxed and impatient with us. But if we walk out of the appointment with a lack of understanding about what we have, or should do next, it was a wasted $150 and 15 minutes of our time.
