Multimedia Moves Patient Education Further Into The Mainstream

Health From robotic surgeries to big data mining, technology continues to make a significant impact on healthcare. On the heels of Meaningful Use and electronic health record (EHR) adoption, one area that is beginning to be further impacted by technology is patient education.

Simply put, the role of patient education in healthcare is vital to the effectiveness of prevention and treatment. Printed education materials have traditionally served as the default mode of communication in many healthcare encounters, given their relative adaptability and limited expense. However, as healthcare providers increasingly strive to provide more patient-centered care, more diverse and adaptable methods of communication are becoming an attractive option for patient education.

According to a 2011 study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 59 percent of Americans use the Internet to research healthcare-oriented information. Unfortunately, this information is not always written in a way that is comprehensible to most adults. Studies have shown that the average American adult reads at approximately a seventh or eighth grade level, but the readability of even government- funded websites often exceeds the seventh grade level. Furthermore, patients who search for information online can be misinformed. They may not understand their disease or symptoms enough to know where to research them online.