How to tell if a patient has limited health literacy—and what to do about it

While it’s easy to tell if a patient has jaundice, you can’t tell if a patient is health illiterate just by looking at him or her. However, recognizing and addressing health illiteracy is just as important to your patients’ well-being as making accurate clinical diagnoses.

"If patients do not understand their disease or their doctor’s instructions, they are more likely to skip medical tests; not take their medications on time; and have difficulty managing chronic conditions."
-Aniruddha Malpani, MD, medical director of Malpani Infertility Clinic in Mumbai, India

There are many myths about patients who likely have limited health literacy skills, such as...