Abstract
Patient education decreases the incidence of medication errors. However, the barrier to education is the level of comprehension of the patient. Studies show that even those with a college degree function at an eighth grade reading level when provided with medical educational materials. This level almost becomes nonexistent if the patient is considered low literate or a first time reader. This functional illiteracy has been reported to lead to approximately $73 billion in additional health care expenditures annually.1
Methods
The Ohio Patient Safety Institute (OPSI), Project: LEARN of Summit County, and the Ohio Society of Health-System Pharmacists (OSHP) collaborated to create and implement a medication safety brochure that could be used by patients at varying reading levels. The partners in this project initiated the development of the brochure after an extensive search for standardized graphics used to relate medical answers to common questions yielded no results. Development of pictures and graphics that were considered universal were keys to the success of the project. The design of the brochure encompassed major problems encountered with medications. Implementation took several routes that led to distribution throughout the state.
Results
At this point more than 65,000 brochures have been circulated throughout Ohio, as well as mailed to interested parties outside the state.
Conclusions
By implementing this type of brochure, we are one step closer to ensuring the education of the entire community regarding medications and their dangers, as well as building relationships that maintain the trust in the medical community.
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