Wisconsin Literacy

A report released in October 2007 from the University of Connecticut School of Business titled "Low Health Literacy: Implications for National Health Policy” concluded that “low health literacy is a major source of economic inefficiency in the U.S. healthcare system. An initial approximation places the order of magnitude of the cost of low health literacy to the U.S. economy in the range of $106 billion to $238 billion annually. This represents between 7 percent and 17 percent of all personal healthcare expenditures.” Click here for the full report in PDF format.

The Institute of Medicine's definition of health literacy is "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic information and services needed to make appropriate decisions regarding their health." The key concept is understanding information needed to make good decisions about health habits and health care.

To find out more about health literacy, please visit the links below:

• The Impact on Low Literate Adults Entering the Health Care System (.ppt, 1.9 MB) A Health Literacy PowerPoint Presentation by Paul D. Smith, MD.
• Video: Patients' Experiences in the Health Care System (.wmv, 8.53 MB)
• Links to On-line Health Literacy Resources (.doc, 125 KB)
• How to Assess the Reading Level (.doc, 59 KB)