Reference no: EM132895621

Discussion: Health Literacy and Marketing

Janet is the health care administrator at a major hospital who is tasked with addressing an issue with recent prescription requests of a particular drug and complaints of overdoses in patients seen in the last three months. This issue is a top priority, not only for patient safety, but also because this prescription drug has received extensive marketing and promotion in the hospital over the past three months. Patients are now complaining that the marketing that promotes the prescription drug as being extremely safe is a direct lie. After speaking with several of the patients and providers of care, Janet has requested copies of each prescription ordered for the patients who have been screened.

After poring over hundreds of prescription orders, Janet has arrived at three conclusions. All overdoses occurred in one department with four providers who primarily see and treat patients that are non-native English speakers and who do not have family members or relatives at home to assist with providing care. Specifically, Janet notices that the issue is linked with the directions on the quantity of medication administered and that this quantity has been misinterpreted by the patients who have suffered an overdose. With a solution in mind, Janet is calling the department and pharmacy to implement a fix to avoid potential overdoses within the next few hours.

In what ways might health literacy account for the issues described in the scenario? What considerations should you keep in mind as a health care administrator to ensure that marketing of programs or services are consistent with the health literacy levels of your target population?

For this Discussion, review the resources for this week. Reflect on potential consequences that health care administrators might face when developing communications that do not account for health literacy in target audiences. Then, consider how health literacy might influence decisions that health care administrators might make when proposing services or programs for health care delivery.

Part 1

Post a brief explanation of the consequences health care administrators might face when developing communications that do not account for health literacy in target audiences. Explain how health literacy might influence the decisions health care administrators make when proposing services and programs for health care delivery. Be specific and provide examples.

Part 2

Continue the Discussion and suggest a possible solution health care administrators might implement to address the consequences described by your colleagues.