Health literacy is the term used to describe people’s ability to understand and communicate health information. Being health literate means being clearly and accurately informed about your health. It involves taking part in the decision making process and understanding your options when filling out a consent form, navigating a hospital setting or following your physician’s advice.
Research suggests that people with low health literacy:

• Make more medication or treatment errors
• Are less able to follow treatments
• Lack the skills needed to negotiate the health care system
• Are at a higher risk for hospitalisation than people with adequate literacy skills

Health literacy is an important issue in Ireland today. Although it is not a high profile emergency, it should be on the top of the political agenda for the following reasons:

• Half of the population of Ireland is affected by literacy difficulties in some way.
• One in five people leave a doctor's surgery unsure about what their GP has told them.
• International research has shown that patients who are better informed about their health have more effective consultations with their health care provider, are better informed about the medicines they are prescribed, are more likely to comply with their medication and as a result have improved health outcomes.

Health literacy is a hidden epidemic and, if left unaddressed, could end up costing the Irish healthcare system millions of euros.