The Bexar County Health Collaborative says that only 12 percent of American adults are considered proficient in the health literacy skills they need to effectively navigate and use our health care.
Theresa De La Haya, vice president of community health and clinical prevention programs at University Health System, says that health literacy starts in the doctor's office.
"For patient care, it is really important for them to understand what we are saying," De La Haya said.
"Health literacy is when you are trying to transmit health information, whether it's through conversation or somebody is reading information about healthcare," said Dr. Andres Pardo, a primary care physician and geriatrician with the Texas Diabetes Institute within the University Health System.
Dr. Pardo noted that misreading medication labels can have terrible consequences.
"Things people get confused on are like medications, if we change their medication to another one," Dr. Pardo said.
What if you rarely get sick and you have to read a medication label for the first time? Would you know where to find the name of the medication? How about the strength of the drug? Do you know what the side effects are? Are the directions easy enough to understand? It may be more complicated than you think.
"They might be taking their medication twice or maybe three times a day, or they might be taking two pills instead of one pill a day,” De Le Haya said.
She also said those that can't comprehend information correctly come from all age groups.
"It’s not the elderly or the older generation. It's not the really young population," said De La Haya, who noted that the barriers often have nothing to do with age. “Whether it is cultural, social, visual, auditory, there are issues that patient may have in being able to translate that information and use it in an appropriate manner."
The key for patients is to ask questions and have someone with you as a second pair of ears.
For more men's health information call 210-358-3045. You can also find the rest of our Wear the Gown stories at WearTheGown.com.
More info on the Health Collaborative’s community programs can be found at their official website here.