BOISE, ID--(Marketwired - October 03, 2016) - As people take a more active role in their care, ensuring strong relationships between care teams and patients is critical. High-quality health education is an important first step in this process. This October, Healthwise experts will mark Health Literacy Month through a series of thought-leader blog posts on how simple steps can help health care organizations strengthen relationships between individuals and their care teams.
"Today, providers and care teams are challenged more than ever to engage their patients in taking an active role in their health," said Jason Burum, chief client officer at Healthwise. "We help organizations not only by providing the best patient and health education, but also by working with them to develop the skills, business processes, and workflow integration that make it a reality. Health literacy is foundational in our approach, and we're pleased to share some best practices as we celebrate Health Literacy Month."
Healthwise has a long history of developing innovative approaches to improving health literacy, from user-experience testing to creating health tools that speak to everyday people. The Center for Plain Language -- which recognizes the best in clear communication for consumers through its annual ClearMark Awards -- has recognized Healthwise with multiple ClearMark Awards and Awards of Distinction since 2010, including the Grand ClearMark Award that year.
"At Healthwise, our mission of helping people make better health decisions goes hand-in-hand with our vision that people everywhere will have access to plain-language health information," said Michele Cronen, managing associate editor at Healthwise. "Sharing our health literacy expertise with other health care organizations gets us one step closer to that vision."
Throughout Health Literacy Month, Healthwise experts will share their knowledge and experience through a series of posts that explore how clear communication can help strengthen relationships between patients (and their families) and the patients' care teams. Each post will explore a different aspect of that relationship, including:
- Knowing your audience.
- Supporting equitable care.
- Ensuring effective communication in every encounter, with every patient.
- Celebrating health literacy success.
You can find more information on Healthwise Health Literacy Month activities at www.healthwise.org/healthliteracy.aspx.
About Healthwise
Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. In 2014, Healthwise merged with the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation to further advance the mission. People have turned to Healthwise information more than 1.5 billion times to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say "no" to the care they don't need. Healthwise partners with hospitals, electronic medical record (EMR) providers, health plans, care management companies, and health websites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the people they serve. www.healthwise.org. 1.800.706.9646.
© 2016 Healthwise, Incorporated.
Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise.
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Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Christian Lybrook
Email: clybrook@healthwise.org
Phone: 208.331.6963