Health Literacy Defined

Show Notes

Do you understand, and can you use all health information that your healthcare provider gives you or finds on the internet? As many as 88% of Americans might say they do to avoid embarrassment. In this episode, Dr. Teresa Wagner, a SaferCare Texas Clinical Executive and health literacy expert, explains how crafting all healthcare information in terms suitable for laypeople may prevent patient harm and reduce healthcare costs.

What is Speak Up for SaferCare?

Patient safety is everybody’s business. Preventable medical errors occur in 10% of all patient encounters in a variety of healthcare settings, which can be devastating to patients, families, and the healthcare workers providing their care. Most errors originate from faulty systems or processes, and not individuals. Speak Up for SaferCare shares stories from subject matter experts, healthcare workers, patients, and caregivers-and aims to illuminate where things went wrong, so future harm is prevented.