Health literacy is crucial. Arguably, it's more crucial now than ever before. Healthcare can be a labyrinth for the average person and the healthcare professional alike. October is Health Literacy Month. This month-long celebration of health literacy puts the spotlight on this very topic. It helps bring greater awareness to everything from making informed health-related decisions to understanding healthcare insurance.
Even for professionals, understanding their medical or nursing insurance can come with questions they need answered. What can you do to expand your health literacy this Health Literacy Month? No matter your relationship with the healthcare field, here are a few things to consider.
Defining What Health Literacy Means to You
One of the biggest questions is how to become more health literate. If healthcare can be such a labyrinth, where does one person start? There is a bevy of online resources that fall under the “health literacy” umbrella anyone can access. It can come down to working to be informed and educated. Healthcare professionals know this well. Many healthcare professions require some form of continuing education.
While there are minimum continuing education requirements for certain fields, it can pay to go above and beyond in developing your own health literacy—even when you’re already well-versed. When you’re proactive in seeking out, reading, and engaging with healthcare topics, you give yourself a major advantage.
Health Literacy Can Give Your Practice an Advantage
Speaking of major advantages, there are areas of health literacy that can give healthcare professionals a real-world advantage. Whether you own and operate a private practice or clinic, or you’re a professional working at a practice, understanding the nuances of healthcare insurance can be hugely beneficial. Once again, it can be a maze, but there are ways to light the way forward.
Health literacy in terms of insurance can mean understanding your coverage as a professional. Do you have enough coverage, the right coverage, or too much coverage? If you’re an RN, should you get additional malpractice insurance for nurses if your employer has coverage? It’s easy to see why it can seem like a labyrinth. However, one way to become more literate in this area is to take your questions to your insurer. This is true of any form of health insurance, professional, private, employer-sponsored, or otherwise.
The Path to Greater Health Literacy
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is one of many institutions that recommends taking a step back to look at the larger health literacy picture. For professionals interacting with patients, it can mean minimizing or avoiding jargon. It can also mean recognizing that there is always a risk of misinterpreting or misunderstanding health-related information for themselves.
There are many paths forward. Part of it is acknowledging the shortcomings in health literacy while being open to a “well-informed” approach. It can mean encouraging questions from patients as healthcare professionals. It can also mean working closely with other healthcare professionals and even insurance providers. You can collaborate to understand the details of your liability insurance for counselors, nurses, or other professionals. Improving health literacy in all areas is a collective effort.
Original Source: https://bit.ly/3LGbab3
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