Prioritizing Health Literacy to Advance Health Equity

Virtually every individual in the U.S. has health literacy challenges in one way or another.

Nearly 9 out of 10 adults have limited health literacy skills, which include everything from navigating the scheduling of a doctor’s appointment to medication adherence to accessing patient portals, to understanding healthcare coverage and costs. Low health literacy puts undue strain on an already-overburdened healthcare system, leads to poor health outcomes, and drives costs.?

Low health literacy adds an additional $238 billion to the healthcare system

While it’s an important issue on its own, improving health literacy is also one of the driving forces behind advancing health equity and must be addressed from that perspective. CMS, HHS, the CDC, and a majority of industry stakeholders have prioritized these issues, but no one would argue that there’s more work to be done.?

“Healthcare is only getting more complex and although we have seen improvement, if we don’t make significant inroads now, we risk even greater healthcare disparities,” according to Dr. Nycaine Anderson-Peterkin, medical director for post-acute care at CareCentrix.

Improving Health Literacy to Advance Health Equity

Many individuals who struggle with health literacy also have language barriers that compound these challenges. In fact, more than 25 million people in the U.S. have limited English proficiency and more than 67 million people speak a language other than English.

Low health literacy prevents patients from effectively communicating with their providers, understanding information, and engaging in their care. “The ability to find, comprehend, and use information to make the right decisions is critical to member engagement,” according to Sonali Kshatriya, PharmD, manager, office of clinical integrity at Walgreens.

To address low health literacy, health plans, pharmacists, and providers must take steps to remove barriers, particularly for marginalized and underserved communities. These groups are more likely to face chronic diseases, limited access to care, and challenges related to Social Determinants of Health (SDoH).

For members receiving home care and their caregivers, coordinating care, following care plans, and taking medications correctly are crucial. However, gaps in health literacy, caregiver stress, cultural beliefs, and digital access often create barriers.

“Health literacy challenges in the home are all-encompassing,” Kshatriya said. “If you can’t get the information you need, or you don’t know it’s available, or it doesn’t seem that it’s meant for you, members aren’t able to get the right services at the right time.”

Only 5.6% of Medicare members have proficient health literacy.

How CareCentrix and Walgreens Are Prioritizing Health Literacy

Improving health literacy and addressing linguistic and cultural differences can bridge gaps and ensure underserved populations have what they need to effectively manage their care and navigate the healthcare system.

“Health literacy allows patients to better understand their care, communicate their values and preferences, and improve the quality of their interactions with providers, which fosters trust and collaboration,” Anderson-Peterkin said. “When members can advocate for their needs, more equitable healthcare policies and practices in the future are possible.”

CareCentrix and Walgreens have demonstrated their commitment to improving health literacy and advancing health equity through several initiatives.

For example, through CareCentrix’s post-acute care solution, nurse coaches?help patients transition from hospital to home by ensuring they understand their care plans, identify services and resources they may need, and provide translation services.

Walgreens Pharmacists are uniquely positioned to build trusted relationships with members and improve health literacy and equity. One way that Walgreens supports members is when new medications are prescribed, pharmacists conduct outreach that allows members to better understand and manage their treatment plans and drives adherence.

“When developing, designing, and delivering care programs, we aim to understand the needs of our members first, and then offer solutions that are accessible—and accepted—by the different populations we care for,” Kshatriya said. “With the right tools that drive action, members understand what they need to do in a way that is relatable. Yet if barriers still exist, we have programs that allow us to engage with members before they go too far off course.”

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