Low Health Literacy: A Silent Epidemic

Cardium Health Takes Leadership Role to Offer an Innovative, Practical Solution
to a Growing National Crisis

Phoenix , AZ (October 13, 2005 ) – A silent epidemic is compounding the national healthcare crisis. It’s called low health literacy and it impacts as many as 90 million American adults.

Simply put, health literacy is the ability to comprehend and act on health information both written and verbal. But when nearly half of all American adults – up to 90 million people – are estimated to have a low reading literacy level, the likelihood is great that they also will have low health literacy, and thus will not be able to effectively take responsibility for their health. They are not alone: Even the most well educated individuals are finding themselves unprepared as healthcare consumers.

To combat this epidemic, Cardium Health, a leading provider of health improvement and disease management programs to self-insured employers and benefit plan sponsors, is offering an innovative, practical solution. In an effort to raise awareness about this important issue, Cardium Health today released an industry perspective that puts the issue of low health literacy in context and offers an innovative solution.

“Underlying the promise of consumer directed healthcare is the assumption that individuals will know what they need to know to make informed choices, understand their options, and live healthier lives,” said Dan Cave, Cardium Health president and CEO, and a co-author of the Cardium Health perspective. “Unfortunately, there is little basis for this assumption.”

Low health literacy is a reality that directly impacts an individual’s ability to comprehend and act on health information, navigate the complex healthcare system, and make good healthcare decisions. The financial impact of low health literacy is staggering at an estimated cost of up to $58 billion annually^i.. For self-insured employers and other benefit plan sponsors, the impact is even greater when the cost for lost productivity and short- and long-term disability expenditures are factored into the equation.

A multitude of influences combine to determine how well an individual will likely be able to comprehend or act on health information, including education level, socio-economic status, cultural beliefs, workplace environment, and emotional state in health situations.

“When people fail to understand how their lifestyle choices impact their health, or how to follow treatment plans recommended by their doctors, the result is often disease progression,” said Patricia Simmons, MS, RD, Cardium Health Clinical Operations Manager and a co-author. “In turn, quality of life slowly erodes. Productivity at work suffers and enjoyment of everyday activities declines, and the financial costs associated with disease progression and emergency room visits continue to escalate to unprecedented levels.”

Low health literacy creates a vicious cycle that only ends when an individual comes to understand the connection between their day-to-day lifestyle choices and their health, and finds the necessary motivation to change.

Cardium Health believes that improving health literacy is a key to unlock the potential for people to become informed consumers, make good decisions and take responsibility for their health. The company’s telephonic health coaching model provides an innovative and practical solution that helps people overcome the limiting factors of low health literacy. Its h ealth coaches take the necessary time to get to know people, establish trust, provide needed support and education, and ask questions that ensure understanding. Over time, they encourage individuals to make behavioral changes and build the confidence needed to make better health decisions and improve their quality of life.

Ellen Daley, MS, RD, CDE, Cardium Health Senior Health Management Clinician and a co-author, said, “Physicians and nurses in clinical settings are so constrained by time pressures that it’s nearly impossible to give the individualized care that patients require. Additionally, the physical setting of a doctor’s office can be an intimidating place, especially for people with low health literacy. Alternatively, the setting in which people are most relaxed and likely to retain information is in an environment that they are most comfortable, such as their home or workplace.”

It is in this setting that telephonic health coaching takes place. It is an innovative customized approach to work with individuals one-on-one to provide them with the knowledge, support and motivation they need to manage their health. With a personal yet remote connection over the telephone, health coaches deliver clinical expertise and information in an honest, friendly and patient voice that says – and means, “I care about you.” Ultimately, improving an individual’s health literacy leads to self-advocacy.

Says Cave, “At Cardium Health, we believe that recognizing and addressing the issue of health literacy offers the potential to improve the health of populations that currently account for the biggest expenditures of the nation’s healthcare dollars. For employers it also offers the added benefit of improving workplace productivity.”

Celebrate Health Literacy Month: Cardium Health released the 11-page perspective, Health Literacy: Closing the Gap Between Knowing and Doing, at the 5th annual international conference of the Institute for Health and Productivity Management (IHPM) in support of Health Literacy Month. To request a full copy of the report, please send us an email or view the Executive Summary.

Contact
Jennifer Kaduk
marketing@cardiumhealth.com
860.677.8900

About Cardium Health: Cardium Health is the leading provider of health improvement and disease management programs to self-insured employers and benefit plan sponsors. The company’s core focus is on reducing healthcare costs by providing medical support and educational interventions to those individuals with chronic conditions. The Company’s people-centered disease management programs are based on proven clinical and economic best-practice protocols. They include such conditions as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, COPD, back pain, cancer management, and tobacco cessation, and easily integrate into employers' back-to-work and wellness initiatives. For more information about Cardium Health and its programs, please visit www.cardiumhealth.com.





i. “Impact of Low Health Literacy Skills on Annual Health Care Expenditures.” Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. Fact Sheet 2004.