The more your patients know

In February, the Texas Institute of Health Care Quality and Efficiency released its strategic plan to guide the institute's activities for the next five years, including an initiative to improve health literacy in the state. Many physicians already are taking steps to improve health literacy among their patients. TMA is helping doctors promote health literacy by participating in the national Walk With a Doc program, which promotes patient-physician communication and healthy lifestyles, and the Choosing Wisely campaign, which allows physicians to play a key role in health care literacy by not ordering and recommending tests or treatments that cost a lot of money that have not proven to be effective.