Valley Medical Center Trains Physicians to Spot Patients' Low Skills
Posted on: Wednesday, 24 August 2005, 21:00 CDT
Aug. 23--Doctors can give prescriptions for ear infections and the flu. But what about referrals to learn how to read?
At Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, prescriptions for literacy aren't out of the ordinary.
With its Prescribing Health Literacy program, physicians are being trained to recognize patients who have low literacy levels or may just need help to understand tricky medical jargon, as in: "Your glycohemoglobin from last week was 9.0 and three months ago it was 9.5."
The hospital's efforts are aimed at addressing health literacy, one of the nation's most pressing challenges, according to the American Medical Association. Not being able to read and understand medicine labels, appointment slips, consent documents and insurance forms can have serious consequences.
Patients who don't understand what their doctors are telling them may incur higher medication costs, unnecessary emergency room trips and more doctor's visits.
In the United States, patients who don't follow their doctor's orders correctly cause an estimated $73 billion in annual costs, according to a 1999 National Academy on an Aging Society study.
"People end up using the emergency department, because they haven't been able to manage their health issues," said Carolyn Brown, the hospital's literacy program coordinator.
The hospital is training about 50 physicians to recognize patients who may need help, using $30,000 in grants received this spring from the Health Trust of Santa Clara County and the Valley Foundation. Patients are referred to the hospital's Community Learning Center, where tutors will cater to their needs.
"I think the medical community is becoming more aware of the importance of making it real easy for people to understand instructions that they give," said Pat Lawson-North, executive director of Vision Literacy, one of the program's partners. The others are the medical center and PlaneTree Health Library located at the Mission Oaks campus of Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Gatos.
San Jose resident Delores Hall discovered the learning center three years ago, when she had a 12th-grade reading level, and has since accomplished many personal victories. She's eating healthier after researching new recipes. She learned basic math skills that allowed her to calculate a rebate form refund on her own for the first time.
When it comes to her health, Hall said she's not afraid to ask for help.
"I have to ask questions because it's my body and I want to know," Hall, 58, said. "I don't want them holding back anything. I want to know everything."
However, not everybody is asking enough questions, said Andrea Cervenka, Valley Medical Center director of patient education for adult medicine.
"A lot of patients are afraid of that," Cervenka said. "They don't want to feel like they're stupid, so they don't ask."
Tutoring material at Valley Medical Center is available for people with a range of reading skills -- everything from fifth-grade to college reading levels. Materials are available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Computer and Internet training are also available.
For patients who cannot make it to the medical center, the PlaneTree Library in Los Gatos has a resource center available to the public. People also can have information packets mailed to them from both locations for free.
Hall knows the learning center changed her life; that's what keeps her coming back for more.
"Some people don't know how to read and write," Hall said. "It's good for them to come in here and learn."
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Source: San Jose Mercury News
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