In honor of Health Literacy Month 2014 this October, The Georgia Alliance for Health Literacy encourages you (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, employers, and educators) to start conversations to give patients and caregivers the information they need to take charge of their own health. It’s not easy for some patients to ask questions and even harder for them to know what questions to ask.
Everyone benefits by asking good questions. Shared information leads to better understanding, which will help us all improve health literacy. Be a Health Literacy Hero when you encourage patient questions and then answer those questions so patients really understand:
- What is my diagnosis?
- What are my treatment options?
- What are the benefits of each option?
- What are risks and side effects?
- What is the test for?
- What happens during the test?
- Are there risks associated with this test?
- What will the results tell me?
- What will the medicine you are prescribing do?
- How do I take it?
- What side effects am I most likely to have?
- And many more!
For more information about Good Questions for Good Health and health literacy events in Georgia, please contact GAHL.