The Partnership for Clear Health Communication (PCHC) has worked closely with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on increasing awareness and understanding for beneficiaries around the new Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit. As part of that effort, CMS and PCHC have now rolled out brochures and tear sheets designed to answer key questions for health care providers about the benefit, including:

  • How does the coverage work?
  • If your patients are healthy, do they need the coverage?
  • How much will be covered?
  • How does your patient select a plan?
  • What impact does the Prescription Drug Coverage have on prescribing practices?

Additionally, the materials provide a brief overview on the coverage, topics to think about when choosing a Medicare prescription drug plan, important dates to remember and national and statewide resources for additional information.

Download the brochure:

 Download the tear sheet:

Download the patient brochures:
http://www.askme3.org/pdfs/PCHC-Medicare-English.pdf
http://www.askme3.org/pdfs/PCHC-Medicare-Spanish.pdf

Help get the word out:
We encourage PCHC members to include a link to these materials on your website, share information about the benefit in an upcoming newsletter and direct your members and affiliates to www.askme3.org or www.cms.hhs.gov for additional information.

8th Annual National Health Literacy Conference Raises Issue to New Levels

On September 14-15, Partnership for Clear Health Communication founding member Pfizer Inc held its 8th annual National Health Literacy Conference – Health Literacy as a Cornerstone of Health Reform – in Washington, D.C.

The conference, which included leading health literacy experts, academic researchers, health care providers, public policy leaders and others, focused on examining the issue of low health literacy, increasing dialogue on the subject and developing practical solutions for improving health communication and ultimately, patient care. Research topics included:

  • Update: Health Literacy Research in 2005, moderated by Dean Schillinger, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of California at San Francisco
  • Funding for Health Literacy Research, led by David Abrams, PhD, Director, Office of Behavioral & Social Sciences Research, National Institutes of Health

The conference also featured remarks by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) director Mark McClellan, former Speaker of the House and founder of the Center for Healthcare Transformation (CHT) Newt Gingrich and CEO and President of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Karen Ignagni, as well as panel discussions with top experts representing national policy, direct care, non-profit, educational and research interests in health literacy.



NCOA Launches Healthy Aging Briefing Series
The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) has recently launched the Healthy Aging Briefing Series, designed to give NCOA members an opportunity to exchange information, get updates on innovative NCOA programs and learn about best or promising practices on the "why" and "how" of healthy aging.

The series, co-sponsored by Caresource Healthcare Communications, features national experts who educate NCOA members on their own senior health promotion and community education programming. On September 22, PCHC Board member Janet Ohene-Frempong – President of JO Frempong & Associates and a plain language and cross-cultural communications consultant – presented a session titled The Savvy Health Care Consumer. The session was designed to help professionals guide seniors toward becoming better health advocates for themselves. It covered practical strategies on senior assertiveness, awareness of rights and better communication skills in relating to health care providers. Overcoming communication barriers such as illiteracy and hearing impairment was also a key discussion item.

The presentation, as well as a full list of future briefing dates, topics, presenters and registration information, can be found at www.ncoa.org/briefings.

Florida Department of Health Encourages Citizens to "Read For Health"

The Florida Department of Health's Read For Health program, launched in October 2002, is designed to improve the health and welfare of Florida's citizens by incorporating reading and literacy-related activities into the scope of services delivered to all Department of Health customers.

Read For Health is based upon the understanding that reading skills are linked with being healthier and more successfully navigating the health care system. It includes reading and mentoring programs around the state, links to AskMe3.org and other educational sites, tips for parents to consider in reading to their children and information about how to become involved with the program.

Learn more: http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Family/RFH/index.html

 

 

The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine will host a Continuing Medical Education Conference, entitled Soul Speak: Plain Talk about Health Literacy and the Physician-Patient Partnership, on February 8-11, 2006, in Jackson, Hole, Wyo. 

The conference will instruct attendees on how to identify patients with limited literacy skills, practice ways to improve communication with patients and motivate change, identify and break motivation barriers of depressed patients, teach other medical professionals these concepts, and more. For more information about the conference, visit http://www.tennessee.edu/
cme/HealthLiteracy.


Tips and Training to Increase Patients' Understanding
PCHC is developing a health literacy principles training program in 2006. To help inform on how this program will best fit your needs, we will be distributing a survey early next year to gauge what types of information and format will be most effective to our members. Look for it in coming months!

For general assistance on materials development, PCHC offers the following guidelines that we use in creating our own printed materials:

  • Explain the Purpose and Limit the Content (Outline a sequence of topics upfront, emphasize desired patient actions and review key points in summary)
  • Involve the Reader (Provide examples for concept and category; make the document culture, age and gender suitable)
  • Make it Easy to Read (Use active voice and common terms, avoid jargon and break up complex topics)
  • Make it Look Easy to Read (Use plenty of white space and avoid dense text, highlight key points and use larger text (12-pt. or larger))
  • Use Visuals to Clarify and Motivate (Opt for realistic images, use action captions, explain charts and lists and give instructions)