PS3-30: The Group Health Plain Language Network: A System-wide Initiative to Improve Communication from the Ground Up

Abstract

Background/Aims: Limited health literacy negatively impacts health care costs, quality, and outcomes. Complex language and other communication barriers prevent 93 million U.S. adults from finding, understanding, and acting on essential health information—leading to medication and treatment errors, failure to seek preventive care or manage chronic illness effectively, increased use of emergency rooms for primary care, and higher health care costs. The Group Health Plain Language Network is a staff-driven initiative to reduce these barriers by establishing a standard of clear communication with patients throughout the system. Methods: The Group Health Plain Language Network was founded in 2007 by a small group of multidisciplinary staff interested in system-level communication improvements to advance health literacy. The Network’s overarching strategy is promotion of plain language—a concise, patient-centered communication style that achieves clarity through common vocabulary and straightforward organization. Network leaders set annual goals tied to organizational priorities and emerging health literacy innovations. We also meet at least quarterly to monitor projects carried out by subgroups of the now 30+-member coalition. Results: Network membership tripled in just two years, thanks to successful engagement of dozens of individuals and departments in a leadership-endorsed plain language initiative. Primary outcomes include: creating a plain language charter and securing executive-level buy-in; developing an online plain language toolkit for all staff; providing plain language training for subgroups of staff; revising dozens of print and Web-based health education materials; and partnering with the Group Health legal department to revise consent templates for medical procedures—many of which went from >15th-grade reading level to <7th grade. Formal evaluation of improvements to consent templates is planned for 2010. Conclusions: The Network’s many accomplishments have occurred without allocating additional resources—demonstrating that system-level communication improvements are possible even when resources are scarce. We attribute the Network’s early success to our focus on a solution-oriented approach that facilitates wide-ranging buy-in: plain language clearly aligns with other organizational goals, cuts across system silos, and engages staff who may not otherwise feel connected to or see the impact of low health literacy. We hope our experience can serve as a helpful example for other health systems striving to advance health literacy through improved communication.