A Focus on Literacy: Communication Skills Training to Improve Outcomes (Sarah Coles MD)

Medical education requires learning a complex new vocabulary to effectively communicate with physicians, the health care team, and the scientific community. However, this jargon does not translate to effective communication with patients. Patients remember little of what is discussed during a clinical encounter. Written advice, teach back techniques, and plain language can improve retention and compliance. Additionally, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) expect physicians to provide a clinical summary to patients following at least 50% of encounters to meet requirements for stage 2 of meaningful use. However, the average US adult reads at the 8th grade level and 25% read below the 5th grade level limiting utility of this tool. Family medicine residencies do not have adequate training on effective verbal and written communication in the setting of limited literacy to meet the needs of our patients. This session will identify consequences of limited health literacy and demonstrate interactive teaching strategies in family medicine residencies to improve written and verbal communication between physicians and patients.
Source: Family Medicine Digital Resources Library (FMDRL) Recently Uploaded - Category: Primary Care Source Type: news