Concerned about how many of your patients end up readmitted to the hospital? Difficult-to-understand discharge instructions may be a top area to examine. A recent study published in the American Journal of Surgery found that 65 percent of the nearly 500 trauma patients studied had functional reading skills at grade levels below that required to understand the discharge notes. Only 24 percent had the reading skills to fully comprehend the summary. Additionally, 65 percent of those readmitted within 30 days were unable to read at the level necessary to understand their discharge notes. Because the consequences of limited health literacy can be severe, discharge notes should be understandable for those reading at a sixth-grade level, the researchers concluded. Read the full article at FierceHealthcare