Health literacy is the degree to which you have the capacity to obtain, communicate, process, and understand basic health information and services allowing you to make appropriate health decisions.

If you are not a physician or healthcare provider, medical terminology can be frustrating and opaque. As a physician I am often asked by friends, all of whom are highly educated and well-read, to interpret reports they get from their health care providers including lab results, diagnoses and treatment options.

Unfortunately, many of us leave a physician’s office without a clear understanding of what our doctor talked about. When your healthcare provider communicates with you using hard to understand medical jargon, you can easily misunderstand the intended meaning.

Healthcare is not the only profession that uses unique terminology. Common examples include lawyers, accountants, electricians, plumbers and many others. Jargon serves an important function that improves communication and efficiency among professionals.

However the skillful use of ordinary English language instead of professional jargon can improve understanding and outcomes for people who are not professionals. As a physician I understand “doctor-speak” but I am clueless when I need to read a legal document or when my electrician tells me I need a new “base feed module”

When negative is good and positive is not good!

Healthcare is one of the few fields where “negative” often means something good and “positive” means something bad. In a recent study from the University of Minnesota Medical School researchers looked at jargon that might have one meaning in ordinary speech, but a different meaning in a healthcare discussion.

Patients frequently misunderstand and assign a meaning opposite to what the physician intended. For example 96% of non-physicians knew that a “negative cancer screening” result meant that they did not have cancer. However, more than 30% of people did not understand that “positive nodes meant their cancer had spread”.

A patient’s ethnic and cultural background are also important determinants of how medical terms are understood. In the early days of my career as a pediatrician I worked in a community health center serving a mostly Puerto Rican population. On my first day I told a grandmother that her 5-year old grandson had asthma - a term that for the grandmother was akin to loss of life. She started screaming, grabbed the frightened little boy and ran out the door. Over the next several months I learned a lot about the population we served and how cultural norms shaped their understanding of medical terms. In Falmouth, with our large Portuguese-speaking population, it’s important that providers learn that medical terms may have different meanings for individuals who have moved here from Brazil and other countries.

Jargon Oblivion and Communication

A phenomenon known as “jargon oblivion" is one of the major sources of physician-patient miscommunication. The problem is that some healthcare providers often are not aware they are using terminology that can be easily misinterpreted by non-physicians. Communication occurs only when you have understood the message, not when the message has been. Your provider can clearly describe a procedure or a test result. But if you don’t understand the intended meaning, then no real communication has occurred.

Doctor-Patient Communication Is a Two-Way Street

Most doctors are very busy and rushed during office visits, which often does not allow time to explain details. The more accurately you describe your concerns both you and your health care provider will benefit. Also it is helpful to describe your symptoms in terms of how it affects you as well as focusing on the issues most important to you during the visit. How well you and your provider communicate is one of the most important parts of getting good health care. Here are some tips:

Ask for Clarification: If you don’t understand a word or concept, ask your provider to explain it in simpler terms.

Take Notes: Bring a notebook to your appointment, or ask for written instructions so that you can review them later.

Bring a Friend or Family Member: Having someone with you during an appointment can help you remember details and ask questions you might not have thought of in the moment.

Repeat Back: After your doctor explains something, try to repeat it back in your own words. It can help confirm that you’ve understood correctly. This is known as the Teach-Back Method, which some doctors and other providers use to provide an opportunity for clarification.

Your Electronic Medical Record and Portal

If you have a local physician you may also have MyChart, a portal that gives you access to your health information. When you have lab work, a diagnostic test or a procedure, the official report is posted in MyChart for you to see at the same time it is sent to your doctor’s office. These reports all use accepted medical terminology and can be confusing and potentially scary. Even as a physician I have difficulty reading some of these reports and need to look up the terminology. If you are concerned about the findings in one of these reports or simply do not understand the information you can send a message from the portal to your doctor’s office and ask for an explanation.

Where to go for More Information

The following online resources are recommended by Neighborhood Falmouth. They are current and reliable:

• MedlinePlus: Talking With Your Doctor: 

• National Institute on Aging: Talking With Your Doctor