The language used by healthcare professionals is often difficult for the average person to understand. According the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), only ten percent of adults have the skills needed to use health care information provided at health care facilities, retail outlets and the media. This means that diagnoses and treatment instructions are not comprehended by ninety percent of adults. Lack of understanding can lead to patient non-compliance with their physicians’ medical recommendations. Health care literacy is the capacity to find, understand and use basic health information and services in order to maintain health, and make every day healthy decisions.
Facts About Health Literacy According to NCES
Most adults have searched for their own health and medical information- Of the 75% of adults searching for their own health information, 60% of them have searched for information on the Internet
- Searching for medical information is on of the top three most popular online activities
- Most people cannot understand the health information they are finding through search engines
- More than half of all adults can’t use a BMI graph to determine their healthy weight
- More than half of all adults can’t properly read and understand a medication drug label
- Adults over 50 years of age, are three times more likely to have below basic heath literacy skills than individuals aged 16-49.
- People with poor health are five times more likely to have below basic health literacy skills than people with average or good health
What Can Your Medical Practice Website do to Improve Health Literacy?
- Filling your medical practice website with unique, easy-to-read content can help reinforce medical information supplied to patients during office visits
- Good medical content will drive your search engine optimization (SEO) ranking results and help patients better follow your medical recommendations
- Every time new content is added to your page, search engines evaluate the content, which effects SEO
- While taking measures to benefit your medical marketing campaign you can help improve health literacy among your existing and potential patients
Can Your Website Improve Health Literacy? MyAdvice Can Write it For You.
MyAdvice is prepared to design a unique online marketing campaign for your medical practice. Our professional representatives can manage your online presence and help your practice attract new patients. For more information, contact MyAdvice.
