Quality of care information for consumers on the Internet

The purpose of this study was to assess the readability of quality of care information for consumers available on the Internet. Ten Internet resources for consumers, found at three major Web sites, were analyzed for readability. The scores ranged from a low of 6th grade level for information in the document "Quick Checks for Quality: Choosing Quality Health Care" to a high of 12th grade level for "Helping You Choose a Quality Ambulatory Care Organization." The overall mean reading demands of four of the documents were higher than the 8th grade level recommended for the general public. Six of the documents were at this level or below, placing them at an appropriate reading level for most consumers to understand the information.