Last week, Health Affairs shared an article titled New Federal Policy Initiatives to Boost Health Literacy Can Help the Nation Move beyond the Cycle of Costly ‘Crisis Care’.  The article is timely for all case managers involved in care coordination and transitions of care and I recommend that you download it now as the free version is available for a short time.

 

As you know, healthcare has its own language that allows professionals to communicate in words, acronyms and symbols that the lay public often does not understand. We also know that many people are too intimidated to ask their doctor to explain what they mean if they did not understand the information. Written instructions can also be confusing, causing people to disregard the information. As we transition to a patient- and family-centered healthcare system that encourage patient engagement and active participation in their care, healthcare professional are becoming more and more aware of the need to understand what health literacy is and how all forms of communication need to be improved so consumers can understand the information.

 

According to the Affordable Care Act of 2010, health literacy is the capacity to obtain, communicate, process, and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions. The article notes that an increasing body of research links health literacy with health outcomes. In particular, limited health literacy leads to a cascade of suboptimal outcomes, including reduced ability to interpret labels and health messages, limited ability to take medications appropriately, lower likelihood of receiving preventive care, more hospitalizations, greater use of emergency care, and – among elderly people – worse overall health status and higher mortality rates.

 

Health literacy is critical for all professionals to understand and to take the steps that ensure all means of communication are understandable for the lay public. Case managers play a key role in ensuring that patients and their families understand the information being communicated to them during their hospital stay, at discharge and during visits to their primary care providers as part of their continuous care.

 

One of the emerging models of care where case managers are practicing is in the Patient Centered Health Care Home. The medical home model brings together a team of professionals led by the physician to use their skills to meet the diverse needs of the patients. Case managers are included as a key member of the team who work with patients and their families in understanding their care and assisting them in becoming active participants in their care.

 

If you are involved in the medical home model, I invite you and your team to participate in our Medical Home Webinar Series that addresses topics pertinent to your practice. In addition to case managers, feel free to invite physicians who have transformed or are thinking about transforming their practice into a medical home to participate in the series.

 

On January 26 we present Boosting Outcomes in the Medical Home through Case Management: Learn the Key Responsibilities of Case Managers in the Medical Home Model. The following month, we present Revolutionizing Patient Engagement: How a Core Component of the Medical Home Can Transform Healthcare. The date is February 22. Both programs take place at 2 p.m. (ET).

 

If you cannot participate in the live webinars, they are available on demand or in a CD version. Visit our continuing education portal to review all of our upcoming as well as on demand webinars and other programs that you can utilize for you and your teams professional development.

 

If you have topics you would like to learn more about, feel free to email me so that we can explore development.