Easy-To-Read Documents

Health Literacy is defined as the ability to read, understand and use healthcare information to make decisions and follow instructions for treatment. ExitCare® is passionate about Health Literacy. Studies reveal that up to 50% of patients cannot understand basic healthcare information. Only ExitCare offers two levels of patient education:

  1. “Easy-to-Read” documents written at or below the 4th grade level
  2. “Standard” documents written at the 6th to 8th grade level

ExitCare’s “Standard” documents accommodate patients who demand comprehensive documents and desire all the information you can provide. ExitCare allows you to choose which documents best fit the needs of your patients.

ExitCare’s Easy-to-Read documents include:

  • Illustrations (most documents)
  • Bulleted Instructions
  • Short Sentences
  • White Space (at least 40% of the page is white space for ease of readability)
  • “Home Care Instructions” and “Get Help Right Away” Emergency Information
  • Quality, Clinician-reviewed Medical Information

ExitCare’s Commitment to Excellence (see link below) results in peer-reviewed, evidence-based and lay-person understandable content consistent with current medical practices and guidelines. This 6-page overview describes many aspects that encompass our commitment to developing documents which meet very demanding criteria.

Today, the most common reading level measurement tool used by medical professionals is Flesch-Kincaid. The “Reading Level” link below explains many of the advantages and disadvantages to this widely used tool.

Example Titles

Click here for a sample Tubal Ligation, Easy-to-Read pdf file (28 KB).

Click here for a sample Diverticulitis, Easy-to-Read pdf file (33KB).

Click here for a sample Otitis Media, Easy-to-Read pdf file (45 KB).

Click here for a sample Peptic Ulcers, Easy-to-Read pdf file (49 KB).

Click here for a sample Sore Throat, Easy-to-Read pdf file (26 KB).

Click here for a sample Sutured Wound, Easy-to-Read pdf file (27 KB).

More Information

Click here for a pdf file (322KB) on Reading Level.

Click here for a pdf file (206KB) with details: Health Literacy and ExitCare
Easy-to-Read Topics.

Click here for a pdf file (1MB) on ExitCare's Commitment to Excellence.

 

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