Ask Me 3 is an educational program provided by the Partnership for Clear Health Communication, a coalition of national organizations that are working together to promote awareness and solutions to low health literacy and its effect on health outcomes.

One of the greatest crises facing healthcare today is limited literacy skills. Limited literacy skills are a stronger predictor of an individual’s health status than age, income, employment status, or education level. Health literacy - the ability to read, understand, and effectively use basic medical instructions and information — is vital to good patient care and positive health outcomes. Limited literacy skills impact nearly one in every three people living in the United States and everyone is susceptible regardless of age, race, education or income.

People with low health literacy:

• Are often less likely to comply with prescribed treatment and self-care regimes.
• Fail to seek preventive care and are at higher (more than double) risk for hospitalization.
• Remain in the hospital nearly two days longer than adults with higher health literacy.
• Often require additional care that results in annual healthcare costs that are four times higher than for those with higher literacy skills.

When patients lack the ability to understand and act upon medical information, it can put their health at risk. Although the effects of the misunderstandings are not always immediately apparent, the adverse outcomes due to non-compliance, improper diagnosis, or delayed treatment frequently result in medical malpractice litigation. Ironically, such claims often include allegations of improperly negotiated informed consent or failure to inform and educate.

The Ask Me 3 program is designed to enhance communication. Patients are encouraged to understand the answers to 3 questions:

The program, which is available at no cost, provides access to tools and resources to help your practice communicate with patients in a way that can better help them understand and act upon your diagnoses and instructions, ultimately improving their health outcomes. Materials available at http://www.askme3.org/ include:

• Ask Me 3 brochures for patients and providers
• Examples of simple interventions
• A list of literacy resources
• A white paper detailing the scope and impact of low health literacy
• A bibliography of research studies

FPIC now offers a one-hour educational program to explore these concepts, and to promote this effective approach to low health literacy. For additional details about the program contact the Risk management Department at 800-741-3742, ext. 3016 or rm@fpic.com.

To learn more about Ask Me 3 programs and resources contact FPIC’s Risk Management Department at 1-800-741-3742 ext 3016 or go to www.AskMe3.org.

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