TY - JOUR
T1 - Readability of discharge summaries
T2 - With what level of information are we dismissing our patients?
AU - Choudhry, Asad J.
AU - Baghdadi, Yaser M.K.
AU - Wagie, Amy E.
AU - Habermann, Elizabeth B.
AU - Heller, Stephanie F.
AU - Jenkins, Donald H.
AU - Cullinane, Daniel C.
AU - Zielinski, Martin D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/3/1
Y1 - 2016/3/1
N2 - Background We assessed the health literacy of trauma discharge summaries and hypothesize that they are written at higher-than-recommended grade levels. Methods The Flesch-Kincaid grade level (FKGL) and Flesch reading ease scores (FRES), 2 universally accepted scales for evaluating readability of medical information, were used. Results A total of 497 patients were included. The mean patient age was 56 ± 22 years. Average FKGL and FRES were 10 ± 1 and 44 ± 7, including 132 summaries classified as very or fairly difficult to read. A total of 204 (65%) patients had functional reading skills at grade levels below the FKGL of their dismissal note; only 74 patients (24%) had the reading skills to adequately comprehend their dismissal summary. Total 30-day readmissions were 40, 65% of whom were patients with inadequate literacy for dismissal summary comprehension. Conclusions Patient discharge notes are written at too advanced of an educational level. To ensure patient comprehension, dismissal notes should be rewritten to a 6th-grade level.
AB - Background We assessed the health literacy of trauma discharge summaries and hypothesize that they are written at higher-than-recommended grade levels. Methods The Flesch-Kincaid grade level (FKGL) and Flesch reading ease scores (FRES), 2 universally accepted scales for evaluating readability of medical information, were used. Results A total of 497 patients were included. The mean patient age was 56 ± 22 years. Average FKGL and FRES were 10 ± 1 and 44 ± 7, including 132 summaries classified as very or fairly difficult to read. A total of 204 (65%) patients had functional reading skills at grade levels below the FKGL of their dismissal note; only 74 patients (24%) had the reading skills to adequately comprehend their dismissal summary. Total 30-day readmissions were 40, 65% of whom were patients with inadequate literacy for dismissal summary comprehension. Conclusions Patient discharge notes are written at too advanced of an educational level. To ensure patient comprehension, dismissal notes should be rewritten to a 6th-grade level.
KW - Educational disparities
KW - Flesch-Kincaid grade level
KW - Health literacy
KW - Readability
KW - Trauma readmissions
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U2 - 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2015.12.005
DO - 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2015.12.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 26794665
AN - SCOPUS:84959564048
SN - 0002-9610
VL - 211
SP - 631
EP - 636
JO - American Journal of Surgery
JF - American Journal of Surgery
IS - 3
ER -