Health Literacy Expert Documents Challenges in Care for Family Member

Healthcare providers must be trained to communicate and partner with patients and their families if healthcare is to become patient-centered, according to an article in the first issue of the new Patient Experience Journal. The author, a health literacy expert from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), recounts what she describes as her first "family health crisis," which followed her mother's hip replacement surgery. When her mother experienced complications and was transferred to another hospital for care, the author found that she was unprepared to handle the situation despite her years of experience.