So what does the phrase “Say, ah” have to do with health literacy? Well, according to the folks at non-profit Say Ah!, it’s related to “Open your mouth and say ‘Ah’” and “Ah, I understand now.”

I love the phrase, all big and bold on their home page: “Medicine is getting better every day, but dealing with it is getting harder.” How true!

Say Ah! is all about helping people understand health and healthcare issues. In other words, the Say Ah! folks seek to improve health literacy because they know that health literacy is “a stronger predictor of a person’s health than age, income, employment status, education level, and race.” (more…)

Knocking down barriers between healthcare providers and consumers is generally a good idea, but is there such a thing as too much patient education? Apparently so, at least in some circles.

In the Health News section of UPI.com, a recent story notes just such a situation exists when it comes to children with cancer. More specifically, it exists for parents and adult caregivers of kids with cancer. As noted in the article, “Parents of kids with cancer distrust Web“, researchers at the University of (more…)

Throughout the world, telehealth services have shown their merit. The United States, however, has taken a bit longer to embrace it. Fortunately, telehealth, also referred to as telemedicine, is gaining bigger and stronger footholds in the U.S. The legal obstacles are being ironed out and reimbursement for telehealth services is improving.

One of the primary driving forces for this change is the lack of sufficient access to medical specialists for many people, especially those outside of major metropolitan areas. Specialists often have tremendous waiting lists; it can take months to gain an appointment. Plus, people in rural areas often must drive for hours to reach specialty care centers. (more…)

Literacy: “An individual’s ability to read, write and speak…, and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one’s goals, and develop one’s knowledge and potential.”
- National Literacy Act of 1991

Health Literacy: “The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health (more…)

Last Friday, January 27th, the insurance company WellPoint released a statement saying that they were going to “revamp primary care pay” as noted in the Miami Herald. They said they were planning on reimbursing primary care doctors better for services that typically aren’t covered very well, such as preparing care plans, counseling people about ways to stay healthy, and spending time with people to help them achieve and maintain better health outcomes. (more…)

Sometimes an idea seems just soooo obvious…once somebody’s finally thought of it!

Not like “pet rocks”, which still seems an impossible multi-million-dollar concept. More like sliced bread or the wheel. Both of the latter ideas seem so downright apparent, it’s hard to believe that there was ever a time when people went without. Yet, there was a time when luggage was dragged and uncut loaves ruled.

Today, I’m going to make a prediction: in the not-too-distant future, people will think it bizarre that there was ever a time when health education was not entwined with entertainment.

Think about it. What is more boring than a pamphlet discussing the importance of pulmonary toilet? (Yes, there is such a term.) What is less interesting than a talking head video of some non-charismatic medical muckety-muck making the topic of colon care even less inviting? Health knowledge and healthcare education have long been made just so boring and so bland that most folks tune out before the first sentence hits its period. (more…)