Medical Economics September 6, 2024
Social health is the key to closing the health literacy gap
Lack of patient engagement, including poor adherence to treatment plans, medications, and appointments, is a key pain point for many physicians. If you’ve been practicing medicine for a while, you know that patient engagement is one of the main factors that can make or break a patient’s health journey.
Contributing to this lack of patient engagement is poor health literacy (i.e. when patients lack the information, context, or perspective necessary to make optimal health care choices). Unfortunately, according to the National Library of Medicine, a staggering 9 out of 10 adults struggle with health literacy.
Indeed, without effective engagement with their physicians, patients may not follow through on key...