Only 12% of Americans possess adequate health literacy skills. Among the populations cited with the lowest health literacy are those who experience chronic health conditions (Armstrong-Heimsoth et. al., (2017). Improving health literacy is a national health priority, and there is a growing body of literature linking health literacy to health care costs, utilization, and outcomes (Hardie, N. et. al., (2011).
Originally, the interest in health literacy was mainly focused on health care services, and had a limited focus on the ability to handle words and numbers in a medical context (Originally, the interest in health literacy was mainly focused on health care services, and had a limited focus on the ability to handle words and numbers in a medical context (Van den Broucke, S. (2014). Yet over the years the concept gradually expanded in meaning to also account for more complex and interconnected abilities, such as reading and acting upon written health information, communicating
NURS 8210 Wk 8 Discussion Consumer Health Information
needs to health professionals, and understanding health instructions (Van den Broucke, S. (2014).
More recently, the concept of health literacy has also found its way into public health. So, in addition to the already significant body of literature linking low health literacy to decreased medication adherence, poor knowledge of the disease, poor adherence to self-care management, and poor treatment outcomes, there is now an increasing number of studies attesting to the fact that people with lower health literacy are also less likely to engage in health-promoting behaviors, to participate in screening programs or to use preventive services (Van den Broucke, S. (2014).
At the same time, the meaning of the concept itself continues to expand and now includes information seeking, decision making, problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication, along with a multitude of social, personal, and cognitive skills that are imperative to function in the health system (Van den Broucke, S. (2014). More recently, the concept of health literacy has also found its way into public health.
So, in addition to the already significant body of literature linking low health literacy to decreased medication adherence, poor knowledge of the disease, poor adherence to self-care management, and poor treatment outcomes, there is now an increasing number of studies attesting to the fact that people with lower health literacy are also less likely to engage in health-promoting behaviors, to participate in screening programs or to use preventive services. At the same time, the meaning of the concept itself continues to expand and now includes information seeking, decision making, problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication, along with a multitude of social, personal, and cognitive skills that are imperative to function in the health system (Van den Broucke, S. (2014).
Nurses face many challenges in caring for diverse populations when cultural and literacy barriers are present. Patients have the right to health information to assist in making informed decisions (Rajah, R.et. al., (2018). Quality healthcare goals include patient-centered and equitable care for diverse populations. According to NAM, the goal for improving healthcare is to make care equitable regardless of personal characteristics, including ethnicity, geographic location, gender, or socioeconomic status (Rajah, R.et. al., (2018).
References;
Armstrong-Heimsoth, A., Johnson, M. L., McCulley, A., Basinger, M., Maki, K., & Davison, D. (2017). Good Googling: a consumer health literacy program empowering parents to find quality health information online. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 21(2), 111-124.
Hardie, N. A., Kyanko, K., Busch, S., LoSasso, A. T., & Levin, R. A. (2011). Health literacy and health care spending and utilization in a consumer-driven healthplan. Journal of Health Communication, 16(sup3), 308-321.
Rajah, R., Ahmad Hassali, M. A., Jou, L. C., & Murugiah, M. K. (2018). The perspective of healthcare providers and patients on health literacy: a systematic review of the quantitative and qualitative studies. Perspectives in public health, 138(2), 122-132.
Van den Broucke, S. (2014). Health literacy: a critical concept for public health.
Consumer health informatics refers to an area of health informatics which reduces a gap between health care resources and patients.
Technology has become an indispensable part of health practice, and health care providers apply technology diversely to enhance health outcomes. Digitizing patients’ data is among the most impacting areas of technology in health practice. In many instances, electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs) are used interchangeably despite serving different purposes. This paper compares EMRs and EHRs, discusses the importance of interoperability, and explains how EMRs and EHRs improve quality and access to care.
EMRs vs. EHRs
Understanding the difference between EHRs and EMRs is vital for the success of technology incorporation in health practice. From a practice viewpoint, both terms represent digital records of patients’ health information. However, as Katz (2018) posited, EMRs are not broad since they are the digital version of a patient’s chart. As a result, EMRs have patients’ information such as treatment history from one practice area. Doctors rarely share such information. EHRs contain more information; they are patients’ records from various health care providers. Balestra (2017) added that, unlike EMRs, EHRs provide a more holistic view of a patient’s health. Multiple health care providers usually share data in EHRs.
Synthesizing my Knowledge with Consumer Health Literacy as Evidenced in Context
Consumer health literacy is crucial part of improving effectiveness and quality of consumer’s health care, consumer’s purchasing decisions and strengthening the management of their health. In my practice setting, I evidenced that consumer health literacy is key to quality care and it is related with three objectives of quality improvement, that is; balanced treatment, safety or privacy and patient-centred care (Lewis, 2007). Consumers with low health literacy fail to navigate health care systems to obtain the needed medications, compared to consumers with high health literacy. Consumers with low health literacy may also incur challenges in enrolling to insurance programmes. In my practice setting, I noticed that many consumers were unable to understand whether they were legible to free care or not. Therefore, I urge consumers to enrol in health care systems to improve their health literacy.
Formulating Strategies to Help Patients in the Application of Web-Based Health Information
One of the strategy that help patients in applying web-based health information is incorporation of interaction. In this strategy, both patients and health care providers are incorporated in a web-based technological system to access medical services. Interaction between patients and medical workers will help medical workers to educate patients about the application of web-based health information (Keselman et al., 2008). An organization can centralize patients’ services to ensure that patients are able to access web-based health information at a single point and for long term. Clinicians may offer timely medical consultations to the patients. This will help patients to understand various uses of web-based health information in health care.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, we can conclude that consumer health literacy play key roles in enhancing quality and improved health care services. Therefore, organizations should embrace in implementing health programs to educate consumers about health care practice. We have also noted the strategies which may be applied to help patients use web-based health information.
References
Keselman, A., Logan, R., Arnott Smith, C., Leroy, G., & Zeng-Treitler, Q. (2008). Developing informatics tools and strategies for consumer-centered health communication. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 15(4), 473-483.
Lewis, D. (2007). Evolution of consumer health informatics [Editorial]. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 25(6), 316.